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| Aira Villegas stunned former IBA World Championships bronze medalist Yasmine Mouttaki for her first Paris Olympics win. Reuters |
MANILA--The quest to finally get that long-awaited Philippine Olympic boxing gold in Paris was off to a good start early Monday (Philippine Time) as Aira Villegas outplayed Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the first phase of the women's 50-kilogram event at the North Paris Arena.
Villegas made good use of her height and reach advantage, catching the slugger-type Mouttaki by surprise in Round 1 with more accurate shots especially late into the first three minutes, enough for all the five judges to give it 10-9 for the Filipina.
The IBA Women's World Boxing Championships bronze medalist's aggression bore some fruit in Round 2 as three judges had the said period in her favor.
Both fighters went toe-to-toe to start the last round, but more accurate and solid shots from Villegas turned the tides in her favor right before the final bell.
Wade Peterson had it 30-27, while the other four judges, Emerson Pastor, Veronica Szucs, Shawn Reese, and Susann Kopke, all scored the bout 29-28 in Villegas' favor en route to the unanimous decision win.
Up next for Villegas is Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam early Friday (Philippine Time).
Boualam, who drew a first-round bye, is seeded second in the tournament.
Follow him on X: @IvanSaldajeno
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