Mark Anthony Barriga (born 11 June 1993) is a Filipino professional boxer who challenged for the

IBF The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

mini-flyweight title in 2018. As an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

, Barriaga represented Philippines at the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, reaching the round of 16 of the light-flyweight bracket.

Personal life

Barriga was born in Danao, Cebu but grew up in Panabo,

Davao del Norte Davao del Norte ( ceb, Amihanang Dabaw; tl, Hilagang Davao), officially the Province of Davao del Norte, is a province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital and largest city is Tagum. The province also includes ...

. Mark Anthony was born to Edgar and Melita Barriga, the former a printing machine operator for a Korean company in their hometown. Barriga took up boxing at the age of 10, encouraged by his father. He studied business at the UM Panabo College and plays guitar as a hobby.

Amateur career

Barriga's participation at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

ended after he lost to

Kazakh Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kazakhstan *Kazakhs, an ethnic group *Kazakh language *The Kazakh Khanate * Kazakh cuisine * Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan *Qazax, Azerbaijan *Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...

boxer Birzhan Zhakypov, 16–17, in their August 4 round-of-16 match. Barriga was slapped with a one-point deduction in the middle of the fight's third and final round, enabling Zhakypov to eke out a one-point win despite trailing by two (8–10) after the second round.

2011 World Amateur results

*Defeated Stefan Caslarov ( Romania) 12–5 *Defeated Paddy Barnes ( Ireland) 20–12 *Lost to Zou Shiming (China) 5–12

2012 Olympic results

*Defeated

Manuel Cappai Manuel Cappai (born 9 October 1992 in Cagliari) is an Italian boxer who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the light flyweight division where he lost in the first round to Mark Anthony Barriga. Cappai won a bronze medal in the flyweight divi ...

(Italy) 17–7 *Lost to Birzhan Zhakypov (Kazakhstan) 16–17

2013 Southeast Asian Games

*Defeated Huynu Ngoc Tan (Vietnam) 2–1 *Defeated Mohd Fuad Mohd Reuvan (Malaysia) 2–1 *Defeated Konelis Kwangu Langu (Indonesia) 3–0

World Series of Boxing

2013–2014 Season boxing fighting for Italia Thunder * Defeated Leandro Blanc ( Argentina) of Argentina Condors (3–0) * Defeated Ovidiu Berceanu ( Romania) of Team Germany by points (3–0) * Defeated Lü Bin (

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

) of USA Knockouts by points (3–0) * Defeated Ovidiu Berceanu ( Romania) of Team Germany by points (3–0) * Lost to Khamza Nametov ( Russia) of Azerbaijan Baku Fires due to TKO-Injury

Professional career

He decided to turn pro after

Rogen Ladon Rogen Ladon (born November 10, 1993) is a Filipino amateur boxer. He first took up boxing in 2007, and won medals in international tournaments such as the Asian Amateur Boxing Championships and Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games ...

qualified for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

as a flyweight, which was Barriga's weight class. Barriga was set to become a professional boxer on June 18, 2016 against Mark Anthony Florida at the Philippine Navy Gym in Taguig in the mini-flyweight division but this match was later cancelled. Upon turning pro, Barriga signed to manager Jason Soong and was trained by Joven Jimenez. A new debut match was scheduled and Barriga was pitted against 18-year old Melvin Manangquil in an undercard match in a show organized by Cebu City-based promotion OPSI at the Robinsons Galleria in Cebu in July 2016. Barriga's match with Manangquil was fought in six rounds instead of four which is customary for debuts of novices in the mini-flyweight division. Barriga won by unanimous decision (60–54, 59–55, 59–55) Barriga's third fight was stopped in the fifth round of eight scheduled, after Barriga was cut by an accidental headbutt. He won the fight by

technical decision A technical decision is a term used in boxing when a fight has to be stopped because of a headbutt. In boxing fights, referees have to pay deep attention to the action going on between the fighters, especially when the two combatants are fightin ...

. Barriga got his first stoppage win in his fifth fight, scoring a round 2 technical knockout over Marlou Sandoval. On September 9, 2017, Barriga defeated former world title challenger

Samartlek Kokietgym Wittawas Basapean (born December 4, 1984), also better known as Samartlek Kokietgym, is a Thai professional boxer and a ranked Minimumweight boxer. He is a former WBC Asian Boxing Council Minimumweight Champion and current PABA Minimumweight Ch ...

, out boxing him en route to a wide unanimous decision win (100–90, 100–90, 100–90). Barriga won the

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...

International mini-flyweight title in this fight. In May 2018, Barriga defeated Gabriel Mendoza, another former world title challenger, by unanimous decision. With the win, Barriga improved his record to nine wins and zero losses and became the

mandatory challenger In professional boxing and some other combat sports, a mandatory challenger is an opponent whom a champion must either fight or be forced to vacate their title as champion. A mandatory defence is the opposite of a voluntary defence, where the champi ...

. This was Barriga's first twelve-round fight. Barriga called out the IBF mini-flyweight world champion, Hiroto Kyoguchi, but Kyoguchi moved up a weight class to light flyweight shortly thereafter. The IBF ordered a match between Barriga and

Carlos Licona Carlos Rogelio Licona (born March 3, 1995) is a Mexican-born American professional boxer who held the IBF mini flyweight title from 2018 to 2019. Professional career Licona turned professional on 5 December 2014 with a first-round knockout of ...

for the vacant title. After negotiations stalled for a few months, the fight was agreed for the undercard of

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury was a professional boxing match that took place on December 1, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Undefeated defending WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder faced undefeated challenger and f ...

Professional boxing record

References

External links

*
Mark Anthony Barriga
on London 2012
Profile in AIBA INTERNATIONAL BOXING ASSOCIATION
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barriga, Mark Anthony 1993 births Living people Boxers from Davao del Norte Boxers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Light-flyweight boxers Olympic boxers of the Philippines Asian Games medalists in boxing Boxers at the 2014 Asian Games Filipino male boxers Asian Games bronze medalists for the Philippines Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Southeast Asian Games medalists in boxing Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Southeast Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Competitors at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games