AIRA Villegas gifted herself a quarterfinals berth in the Paris Olympics on the day she turned a new leaf in life.
The 29-year-old Villegas came out storming from her corner from the opening bell and sustained it the rest of the way, scoring a unanimous decision over no. 2 seed Roumaysa Boualam to advance in the women’s 50 kg class early Friday morning (Manila time) at the North Paris Arena.
Villegas repeatedly backed off her 29-year-old Algerian foe with her stinging left jabs and quick combinations, enabling her to get all of the five judges’ nod in the first round on the way to the 5-0 victory at the end of the bout.
The southpaw from Tacloban City turned 29 last August 1.
Shortly after her victory, Villegas was serenaded with the birthday song by the motley Filipino crew at the stand as ABAP chairman Ricky Vargas and Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) President Abraham 'Bambol' Tolentino congratulated the Filipina at ringside.
She was later presented with a birthday cake by the Philippine boxing team led by ABAP (Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines) secretary-general Marcus Jarwin Manalo.
She now moved to the quarterfinals where she meets home bet and seventh seed Wassila Lkhadiri, a 4-1 winner over Daina Moorehouse of Ireland in the first bout of women’s light-flyweight class.
The quarterfinal match is set early Sunday morning at 3 a.m. (Manila time), with a win by Villegas already assuring her of a bronze medal and a seat in the semifinals.
Villegas is the second Filipino boxer to make it to the Final Eight after Carlo Paalam in the men’s 57 kg. division.
Nesthy Petecio will try to follow in their paths as she faces Amina Zidani of France in the women’s 57 kg round-of-16 on Saturday morning (Manila time).
Boualam stepped up the pace in the second round to make up for the 5-0 shutout in the opener, aggressively charging to Villegas and throwing power punches that gave her the round, 3-2, and a shot at turning things around in the finale.
But the Algerian couldn’t sustain the tempo as Villegas again relied on her left jabs and perfect counters to put the match away.
Incidentally, Boualam’s Algerian teammate Imane Khelif is one of two women boxers allowed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to compete despite previously failing a gender test during the IBA World Championships in New Delhi last year.
Khelif won her first bout in the women’s 66 kg class also on Friday after her Italian opponent Angela Carini abandoned their fight just 46 seconds into the first round.
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