A chance at redemption and a well-deserved debut.
Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas secured their spots in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris later this year after overcoming their respective opponents in the 1st Boxing World Olympic Qualification Tournament at The Maria Piantanida Sports Palace in Busto Arsizio, Italy.
Petecio, who clinched a silver in the 2020 Games in Tokyo, becoming the first Filipino female boxer to medal in the Olympics, relied on her experience to outsmart Turkey’s Ezra Yildiz with a 4-1 split decision in the women’s featherweight (57 kg).
At the beginning of the bout, the 2019 World champion impressed all five judges with her solid work, earning their approval in the first round.
Yildiz was more active in the second round, landing punches with greater volume than Petecio.
However, Petecio’s more precise shots made a stronger impression on the judges, with all but one scoring in her favor.
Petecio opted for a more defensive strategy in the third round, allowing the Turkish fighter to win that frame but still emerged victorious in the bout.
On the other hand, Villegas shrugged off a penalty point against Bulgaria’s Zlatislava Chukanova in the second round and won a unanimous 5-0 decision in the women’s flyweight (50 kg).
The 28-year-old southpaw dominated the Bulgarian in the opening round, earning straight 10s across the board.
However, Villegas was consistently reprimanded for an illegal hold in the round.
The referee eventually deducted a point in the following frame, but despite this, the Filipino boxer continued to dominate and won the round, inching closer to a win and a ticket to Paris.
Chukanova and Villegas traded punches in the third round, with the former landing more of her punches.
The Bulgarian needed all five judges on her side in the frame but could only secure three of them, as the Filipino earned herself a maiden Olympic appearance.
