Former Olympian Mark Barriga opens up about his boxing hiatus

Filipino Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga has finally opened up on why he decided to walk away from boxing almost four years ago.

Barriga, 28, went on a hiatus from the sport after he lost to Carlos Licona in his first world title bid in 2018. Not only did he not compete for almost three years, but he also left his old team in Survival Camp which is spearheaded by ex-world champ Jerwin Ancajas and his trainer Joven Jimenez.

“One of the reasons why I did that was because my mom got sick so I decided to take a break until she passed away. I did not feel like coming back because my mom was supportive of my boxing. I tried to forget about it for a while,” said Barriga.

“My mind was fixed about stopping because I already have a few businesses that I enjoy. Though I wanted to, whenever I think of my mom, I would lose the drive to box again. After a while, I spoke to my brother and told him that we have to give it another try.”

Barriga is scheduled to face WBO world light flyweight champion Jonathan Gonzalez on June 24 at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, USA.

Asked if he would come knocking at Survival Camp again for help, Barriga opted to stay mum about what transpired with his former team.

“I do not want to talk about what happened and why I left. We are all good and there are no hard feelings. There is no problem at all,” Barriga stated.

—JMB, GMA News