Carlo Paalam silences doubters with unshakable belief: 'Nothing is impossible'

As a boy, Carlo Paalam used to sell metal scraps to help earn some money for his family in Cagayan de Oro City.

Now at 23 years old, he is set to earn a precious metal for himself and for the Philippines in the Tokyo Olympics.

The Filipino boxer is assured of at least a bronze medal in the men's flyweight division after scoring a huge upset against Olympic and world champion Shakhobidin Zoirov of Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals.

"Dahil sa kahirapan pumasok si Carlo sa larangan ng boxing [Carlo entered the field of boxing because of poverty]," his father Pio said in Mariz Umali's report on "24 Oras."

"Sa binigay na grasya at ginabayaan ng Panginoon ang anak ko na si Carlo, salamat Lord [For the blessing and the guidance to my son Carlo, thank you Lord]," he added.

According to sports analyst JM Siasat, many people doubted that Paalam could win a medal in Tokyo because he was up against the reigning champion.

The Filipino pug, however, silenced all the doubters with his performance.

"People thought that it's the end of the road for him and yet he shocked the world," he said. "Is he capable of winning gold? Yeah, definitely."

Paalam's girlfriend, Stephanie Sapulveda, could not help but be emotional and said she is happy for beau for getting "one step closer" to his dream.

"Lagi niya sinasabi sa akin na walang imposible. Tiwala lang and every time na may mag-chat sa akin humihingi ako ng prayer para sa kanya," she said.

("He always tells me that nothing is impossible. Just believe and every time someone chats me up I ask for prayers for him.")

Paalam will next face home bet Ryomei Tanaka of Japan in the semifinals.

—MGP, GMA News