VIENTIANE — Featherweight Joan Tipon was caught with a punch before the buzzer sounded in the second round and that may have cost him the bout against Thai rival Chatchai Buddee Friday at the start of the boxing competition in the 25th Southeast Asian Games.

Tipon, the reigning Asian Games champion, fought well toward the end of the round, holding Chatchai to a 4-all deadlock, but a wicked left staggered the Filipino.

Down, 4-5, at the start of the final round, Tipon was forced to change strategy and was repeatedly beaten to the punch by Chatchai, the same guy who mauled him at the King’s Cup in Thailand last April.

The final score: 9-4.

Tipon blamed an ailing shoulder for his loss – a mild injury he sustained during sparring back home, but RP coach Pat Gaspi thought otherwise.

“Kulang sa kumpiyansa,” said Gaspi. “Kayang kaya naman ang kalaban.”

Two other RP fighters, however, won their assignments.

Bill Vicera, buoyed up by AIBA’s decision to retain the pinweight division in the Games, scored an entertaining 7-5 win over Malaysian Muhamad Fuad Mohd.

Vicera and Mohd came out smoking in the first round, throwing bombs from both hands, but only three punches were credited, two of them by Mohd.

The 27-year-old Bago fighter found his range in the second, pressing the attack to draw level, 5-all.

In the third, Mohd began to fade as Vicera secured the win with two clean punches.

Featherweight Charly Suarez took longer to spell his opponent’s name than his knockout win over Otnel Negrito Manuel Batisia of East Timor midway through the first round. He scored the first 12 points of the bout before sending his opponent flat on his back.

It took 30 seconds before the Timor fighter regained consciousness and was helped out of the ring.

Suarez skipped rope to work out a sweat after the bout.

Boxing resumes Saturday with the start of the women’s event.