Nesthy Petecio, seen at the 2023 World Championships. Photo from Petecio’s Facebook
Nesthy Petecio, the featherweight silver medalist from the Tokyo Olympics, kicked off her bid to improve off that finish in strong fashion, dominating India’s Jaismine to a unanimous decision in the 2024 women’s 57-kilogram round of 32 on Tuesday, July 30 at Arena Paris Nord.
Petecio, 32, of Santa Cruz, Davao del Sur in the Philippines earned the victory by scores of 30-27 on three cards, while the other two scored it 29-28 in her favor over Jaismine, who is ten years her junior.
Petecio, who at 5’4” was giving away five inches in height, never seemed bothered by the disparity, using her feints and overhand rights to land consistently on the taller southpaw. Petecio’s speed was also a serious advantage, as she cut the range and flurried to the body and landed over the top to end the first.
With the result all but secured, Petecio danced away at the end of the final round to the bell.
Petecio will return to action on Friday, when she faces Amina Zidani of France in the round of 16. Zidani, a 30-year-old pro boxer with a 5-0 (2 KOs) record, earned a gold at the 2023 European Games and a bronze at that year’s World Championships.
The excitement from Philippines’ was dampened somewhat by the result in Eumir Marcial’s 176-pound round of 16 bout, where he lost a unanimous decision to Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullaev. Marcial, a bronze medalist at the Tokyo Games, moved up from middleweight after his weight class was abolished for this Olympiad, dropped the first round unanimously as the taller Khabibullaev, also a southpaw, got his punches off first early on.
The bout became more of a brawl in the second round as Marcial began to rip to the body and pressure relentlessly, while Khabibullaev looked to time left hands as Marcial came forward. Marcial continued to pressure in the third, landing big right hooks and left hands along the ropes, forcing Khabibullaev to hold to break the action.
The road forward doesn’t get much easier 20-year-old Khabibullaev, who will face Cuba’s two-time gold medalist Arlen Lopez on Friday in the 80kg round of 16. Lopez, 31, advanced to the next round with a win over Turkey’s Kaan Aykutsun.
Lopez is vying to become just the fourth boxer to win three Olympic gold medals.
Full Results
Men’s 51kg – round of 16
Billal Bennama (FRA) 3-2 Roscoe Hill (USA)
Alejandro Claro Fiz (CUB) 5-0 Michael Douglas da Silva Trindade (BRA)
Rafael Lozano Serrano (ESP) 4-1 Yusuf Chothia (AUS)
Yunior Alcantara Reyes (DOM) 5-0 Nijat Huseynov (AZE)
Patrick Chinyemba (ZAM) 4-1 Amit Amit (IND)
David de Pina (CPV) 4-1 Thitisan Panmot (THA)
Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) 5-0 Samet Gumus (TUR)
Hasanboy Dusmatov (UZB) 5-0 Juanma Lopez de Jesus (PUR)
Men’s 80kg – round of 16
Cristian Javier Pinales (DOM) 5-0 Tuohetaerbieke Tanglatihan (CHN)
Gabrijel Veocic (CRO) 5-0 Hussein Iashaish (JOR)
Oleksandr Khyzhniak (UKR) 4-0 Pylyp Akilov (HUN)
Wanderley de Souza Pereira (BRA) 5-0 Cedrick Belony-Duliepre (HAI)
Turabek Khabibullaev (UZB) 5-0 Eumir Marcial (PHI)
Arlen Lopez (CUB) 5-0 Kaan Aykutsun (TUR)
Women’s 54kg – round of 16
Sanimira Petrova (BUL) 4-1 Huang Hsiao Wen (TPE)
Chang Yuan (CHN) 5-0 Jennifer Lehane (IRL)
Widad Bertal (MAR) 3-2 Jutamas Jitpong (THA)
Pang Cholmi (PRK) 5-0 Nigina Iktamova (UZB)
Hatice Akbas (TUR) 5-0 Tiana Echegaray (AUS)
Enkhjargal Munguntsetseg (MGL) 4-1 Lenuta Lacramioara Perijoc (ROU)
Im Aeji (KOR) 4-1 Tatiana Regina de Jesus Chagas (BRA)
Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda (COL) 3-2 Preeti (IND)
Women’s 57kg – round of 32
Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) 3-2 Marcelat Sakobi (COD)
Esra Yildiz Kahraman (TUR) 5-0 Marine Fatoumatta Colette Camara (MLI)
Alyssa Mendoza (USA) 3-2 Mijgona Samadova (TJK)
Nesthy Petecio (PHI) 5-0 Jaismine (IND)
Xu Zichun (CHN) 3-2 Irma Testa (ITA)
Julia Szeremeta (POL) 4-1 Omailyn Carolina Alcala Cegovia (VEN)
Men’s 80kg – round of 16
Nurbek Oralbay (KAZ) 3-2 Callum Peters (AUS)
Murad Allahverdiyev (AZE) 5-0 Abdelrahman Abdelgawwad (EGY)
