Prior to Paris, Pinay boxer Aira Villegas had only one international medal in her collection–a humble bronze medal won way back in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in Manila.
Facing more decorated opponents in the 2024 Olympics, the Tacloban native was not among those expected to medal among Philippine boxing’s five sent to Paris.
But Villegas helped her team rebound from early defeats of Tokyo 2020 medalists Carlo Paalam and Eumir Marcial, adding a bronze medal to the two gold won by gymnast Carlos Yulo, propelling the Philippines to solo 22nd place in the medal table.
Villegas did her best but was short of the coveted gold medal match as she fell to reigning silver medalist and six-time European champion Buse Naz Cakiroglu of Turkey via unanimous decision in the Olympic boxing women’s flyweight semifinals on Wednesday morning.
Cakiroglu, hungry on improving from her runner-up finish in Tokyo, connected on her combinations and power punches better than Villegas, gaining an early lead with a three-punch combination that resulted in a standing eight-count against the Filipina.
Seemingly fading away in what appeared to be a lopsided bout, Villegas regained power and pressed on the offensive in the second round despite absorbing some counter punches from Cakiroglu.
A point of controversy was at the 1:06 mark of the second round, when Villegas wowed the Turk with her own three-punch combo, ending with a sweeping right straight that floored Cakiroglu.
However, Canadian referee Wade Peterson ruled the knock down as a slip.
A knockdown call could have resulted in a 10-8 second round for Villegas, which could have leveled or give a slight advantage for the Filipina, upping her confidence and changing the complexion in the third round.
But Cakiroglu proved to be the better puncher in the third round, going toe to toe versus Villegas instead of avoiding her attacks.
Still, given her unheralded status, Villegas has exceeded expectation in the Olympics and won her biggest medal to date, on top of P2.5 million awaiting her from the Philippine government.
It was not an easy route for Villegas for the bronze, as he convincingly defeated former African champion Yasmine Moutaqui of Morocco and six-time international champion Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria via unanimous decisions, before overcoming homecourt disadvantage and nipping 2023 World Championship bronze medalist Wassila Lkhadiri of France.
Villegas has also joined legendary boxers Jose Villanueva, Leopoldo Serantes, Roel Velasco, and Marcial as the Filipino pugilists who have won an Olympic bronze medal.
(Photo from Aira Villegas’ Facebook account)
