Boxer Aira Villegas hopes familiarity an edge in Olympic quarterfinal bid

Filipina boxer Aira Villegas faces a familiar foe in the women's 50kg round of 16, but the pride of Tacloban City still braces for surprises in her bid to stay in the Olympic medal hunt

MANILA, Philippines – Filipina boxer Aira Villegas aims to put her familiarity with her next foe to good use as she hopes to inch closer to a guaranteed medal in the Paris Olympics.

Villegas faces second seed Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria next in the women’s 50kg division when they tangle in the round of 16 at the North Paris Arena on Thursday, August 1 (Friday, August 2, Manila time).

It will not be their first encounter as Villegas sparred with Boualam in the lead-up to the Olympics.

Villegas, though, knows beating Boualam in a real fight is a different beast.

“I’ve sparred with her before, but of course, an actual match is different,” said Villegas in Filipino. “We need to study her again and train hard.”

Boualam, who drew a first-round bye, is one of the best boxers coming out from Africa.

A two-time Olympian, the Algerian won two golds each in the African Games and African Amateur Boxing Championships and a gold each in the Mediterranean Games and Arab Games.

Villegas seeks to make it two wins in a row against African opponents.

The pride of Tacloban City advanced to the round of 16 after a unanimous decision win over Morocco’s Yasmine Mouttaki, who is also a two-time African champion.

A win over Boualam will put Villegas within a victory of at least a bronze.

Villegas is one of the three Filipino boxers still in the running for Olympic medals after Eumir Marcial (men’s 80kg) and Hergie Bacyadan (women’s 75kg) dropped their opening bouts.

Nesthy Petecio (women’s 57kg) vies for a quarterfinal spot against France’s Amina Zidani, while Carlo Paalam (men’s 57kg) shoots for a semifinal berth against Australia’s Charlie Senior. – Rappler.com