IN HIS second 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics bout, Filipino Carlo Paalam was awarded the unanimous decision victory versus Algeria’s Mohamed Flissi earlier today at the Kokugikan Arena in Tokyo. All of the judges scored the bout in favor of the 23-year-old Filipino, 30-27.
It was a calculated first round from both fighters, as Paalam and Flissi waited for the right opportunity to strike. However, Paalam was the more active fighter as he made good use of his quickness to avoid Flissi’s attempts to engage in the pocket. Due to his elusiveness, all five judges gave Paalam the round win.
Brimming with confidence after the first round, the 2018 Asian Games bronze medalist dictated the pace all-throughout the final two rounds. With his blistering counterpunches combined with a keen eye to evade his opponent’s attempted strikes, Paalam carried the day as he was declared victorious by way of unanimous decision.
With this impressive outing, Paalam breezed on through to the quarterfinals where he will face a tough test against the 2016 Rio Olympics Flyweight gold-medalist, Shakhobidin Zoirov on August 3 in Kokugikan Arena, Tokyo at 10:15 AM Manila time.
Petecio handles Italian foe
Despite having a six-inch height disadvantage, Nesthy Petecio cut down Italian Irma Testa to size en route to a thrilling split decision triumph, 4-1 (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29). Their semi finals matchup in the women’s featherweight division of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics boxing tournament was held at the Kokugikan Arena earlier today.
The towering 5’8” Italian—who used to compete as a lightweight in the 2016 Rio Olympics—immediately utilized her height advantage, unloading a handful of left jabs which earned her the first round.
Petecio, who won a gold medal in the 2019 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, then went on to the second round with a sense of urgency. A more aggressive Petecio repeatedly connected her left-handers and ended with a combination of body shots against Testa to secure the second round.
With the bout tied heading into the third round, the feisty Davaoeño Southpaw continued to put pressure on Testa and scored with a right hand early. The Italian tried to unload her own offense but Petecio showcased her excellent defense and swift head movement. With about 40 seconds left, the 29-year-old Petecio connected with a combination, ultimately giving her the final round.
After her impressive performance, Petecio is now a win away from giving the Philippines another historic gold medal. She will face the winner of the other semi finals matchup between Great Britain’s Karriss Artingstall and Japan’s Sena Irie. The finals will be held on August 3 at the Kokugikan Arena, 1:05 PM Manila time. Petecio is the first Filipina boxer to ever qualify for an Olympic medal match. She now joins Anthony Villanueva and Onyok Velasco as the only Filipino boxers to compete in an Olympic final. Both Villanueva and Velasco won silver in 1964 and 1996 respectively.
