Nesthy Petecio, a Filipina boxer, stunned top-seeded Lin Yu-Ting of Chinese Taipei in the Round of 16 of the women’s featherweight division at the Kokugikan Arena on Monday, causing a stunning upset in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (July 26).
Petecio continued her strong form after a morale-boosting unanimous decision win in her debut fight to engage in a slugfest with the fancied Taiwanese boxer.
In the opening round, the Filipino fighter took advantage of a tentative Lin by darting in and out of range and then launching combinations while in the pocket. Petecio landed clear lead left hands while her opponent was still trying to gauge distance from the outside, and four judges awarded Petecio the opener, while one judge awarded Lin the win.
Knowing she was in trouble, the top seed switched things up in Round 2 by abandoning her distance game and engaging Petecio on the inside. Lin received three judges’ votes, while the Filipino received two.
The third round was a lot like the second: it was a competitive fight with both combatants getting their offense in. Petecio, on the other hand, did slightly better against the top-ranked woman in the featherweight bracket and the Associated Press’ gold pick.
Petecio won a close-call 3-2 split decision at the end of a tense bout. Three judges gave her a 29-28 victory, while the rest gave Lin a 28-29 victory.
As she progresses to the quarterfinals of the AIBA Women’s Boxing Championship, the 2019 AIBA Women’s Boxing Championship featherweight gold champion is just one win away from securing an Olympic medal.
Petecio will compete against Yeni Marcela Arias Castaneda of Colombia on Wednesday (July 28).