Aira Villegas continues her solid run in Paris 2024 after defeating Algeria's Roumaysa Boualam to advance to the quarterfinals of the women's 50kg division.
Aira Villegas scored a massive upset in Paris 2024 as she downed second seed Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria in their women’s 50kg Round of 16 battle via unanimous decision inside the North Paris Arena on Friday, August 2 (Philippine time).
The judges scored the fight 30-29, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, and 30-29 in favor of the Filipina.
Villegas took advantage of a tentative Boualam in the first round as she showed off her speed and solid combination punches.
The Filipina boxer landed precise right jabs while her opponent struggled to connect on scoring punches, with all five judges scoring the opener for the Villegas.
Trailing after the first round, Boualam became more aggressive in the second as she landed some cleaner shots. Villegas, however, was able to counter this again with her speed as she landed more scoring punches.
Three judges had the scores tied at 19-all between the two boxers, while the other two had it for Villegas.
The third round was similar to the second, with Boualam starting off as the aggressor, but Villegas fared just a bit better in the end to secure the 5-0 victory against the no. 2 seed.
Villegas has made it two wins in a row against African opponents and will advance to the quarterfinals, where she will just be a win away from securing herself at least a bronze medal.
In the quarterfinals, Villegas will go up against French boxer Wassila Lkhadiri on Sunday, August 4 at 3:20 a.m. (Philippine time).