AIRA Villegas got the Philippine boxing team off to a good start in the Paris Olympics.
The Filipina southpaw took control early on then withstood an all-out assault by Moroccan Yasmine Mouttaki to carve out a unanimous decision in the round-of-32 of the women’s 50 kg class at the North Paris Arena early Monday morning (Manila time).
Villegas, turning 29 on August 1, set the tone of the bout by repeatedly scoring on jabs against the 2023 World Championship bronze medalist, who didn’t manage to cut the distance until late in the second round to make a fight out of it.
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But the native of Tacloban City, fighting in her first Olympics, wisely leaned on her strength and kept Mouttaki from coming in by punishing her with those crisp jabs.
In the end, Villegas earned the nod of all five judges for an impressive 5-0 win and a berth in the round-of-16.
The going gets even tougher for Villegas there as she will be up against No. 2 seed Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria. The two slug it out on August 2 at 2 a.m. (Manila time)
Boualam, 29, competed in the Tokyo Olympics four years ago as a flyweight, but lost right in the opening round to Jutamas Jitpong of Thailand, 5-0. Jitpong incidentally, dealt Irish Magno a 5-0 loss in the round-of-16.
The Algerian drew a bye earlier.
“Keep that jab coming, keep that jab coming,” Philippine boxing team coach Don Abnett repeatedly instructed Villegas in the corner after the Filipina dominated the opening round against the aggressive Moroccan.
Mouttaki began closing in during the latter part of the second round, hitting Villegas with several effective combinations to earn the nod of three of the judges and give herself a shot of turning the tide in the final round.
Villegas keeps composure
But the Filipina kept her composure and never fell prey on the Moroccan’s fight plan. Villegas then delivered a big left to Mouttaki just inside the final 10 seconds of the third round to secure the win.
Villegas’ triumph gives the Philippine boxing team the initial momentum it needed moving forward.
Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio and bronze winner Eumir Marcial are next to see action on Tuesday (Manila time) as they begin their respective campaigns in the women’s 57 kg and men’s 80kg divisions, respectively.
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