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Philippines' Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the women's 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. Mohd Rasfan, AFP

Philippines' Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the women's 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. (Photo by MOHD RASFAN / AFP)

Article (news)

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Camille Naredo

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/172253571103120240728-paris-olympics-boxing-villegas-AFP2024.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Philippines&#x27; Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco&#x27;s Yasmine Mouttaki in the women&#x27;s 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. Mohd Rasfan, AFP"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Philippines&#x27; Aira Villegas (in blue) punches Morocco&#x27;s Yasmine Mouttaki in the women&#x27;s 50kg preliminaries round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on July 28, 2024. <em>Mohd Rasfan, AFP</em></span></span></span></div><p>(<strong>2nd UPDATE</strong>) Filipina boxer Aira Villegas produced another fine display to pull off an upset against Algeria&#x27;s Roumaysa Boualam in the round-of-16 of the women&#x27;s 50kg division in the 2024 Paris Olympics.</p><p>It&#x27;s a double celebration for Villegas, who is turning 29. The Tacloban City native shocked the second seed in their weight class on Thursday at the North Paris Arena (Friday morning in Manila).</p><p>All five judges scored the bout in favor of the Filipina, who for the second straight match wobbled in the second round but showed her poise in the third frame where Villegas regained control.</p><p>&quot;Siyempre po noong umpisa po, iniisip ko na parang hindi ako pwedeng matalo,&quot; Villegas said in the mixed zone after her bout. &quot;Naka-sparring ko po siya doon sa Germany. So, napag-aralan ko siya.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Pero ayun nga, hindi po tayo kumpiyansa kasi iba talaga ang sparring sa game. So kailangan ko pa rin panoorin, i-study yung game plan niya at mga dating laro. With the help of my coaches, na-deliver ko ng maayos,&quot; she added.</p><p>Boualam, a two-time African Games gold medalist, received a bye into the round-of-16 but was immediately put on notice by Villegas in the first round as the Filipina started off aggressively and landed the bigger shots.</p><p>But Boualam recovered to win three of the five scorecards in the second, using her jab to score against Villegas. The Filipina roared back in the third, winning their exchanges and finding a target for her straight left.</p><p>&quot;Noong third po sabi po ng coaches ko, stick tayo sa kung ano ginawa noong first round. So &#x27;yung distansiya, atras, parang hit-and-run. Nagawa ko naman, tapos ayun nga po, pinag-aralan ko &#x27;yung mga past games niya,&quot; said Villegas.</p><p>Villegas will be up against a French bet in the quarterfinals -- Wassila Lkhadiri, who edged Ireland&#x27;s Daina Moorehouse in their own round-of-16 bout.</p><p>A victory over Lkhadiri will assure Villegas of a medal.</p><p>Villegas had advanced to the round-of-16 after a unanimous decision win over Yasmine Mouttaki of Morroco last Sunday (early Monday in Manila).</p><p>A bronze medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Villegas punched her ticket to Paris last March in the 1st Boxing World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy. -- with a report from Dyan Castillejo, POC Media/ABS-CBN News</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/7/28/aira-villegas-takes-down-moroccan-foe-advances-to-round-of-16-346">READ: Aira Villegas takes down Moroccan foe, advances to round-of-16</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/2024/7/16/aira-villegas-vows-to-let-her-game-do-the-talking-in-olympic-debut-2325">READ: Aira Villegas vows to let her game do the talking in Olympic debut</a></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TfDtBkJdogo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></div><div><br/></div>

<p>Filipina boxer Aira Villegas produced another fine display to pull off an upset against Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam in the round-of-16 of the women's 50kg division in the 2024 Paris Olympics.</p>

Filipina boxer Aira Villegas produced another fine display to pull off an upset against Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam in the round-of-16 of the women's 50kg division in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Paris 2024: Aira Villegas stuns Algeria's Boualam, advances to q'finals

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Paris 2024: Aira Villegas stuns Algeria's Boualam, advances to q'finals

Camille Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Aug 02, 2024 02:39 AM PHT

|

Updated Aug 02, 2024 02:51 PM PHT

Read More:

abssports

boxing

Aira Villegas

Roumaysa Boualam

Paris Olympics

Olympic Games

2024 Olympics

France

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