Aira Villegas begins Paris Olympics boxing bid with win over Moroccan foe

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Filipina boxing star Aira Villegas kicked off her Paris Olympics women’s boxing campaign on a high note after scoring a unanimous decision victory over Yasmine Mouttaki of Morocco on July 29, 2024.

All of the five judges gave the fight in favor of Villegas, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, and will march to the Round of 16 phase of the women’s 50kg category.

Villegas was laser-focused as early as the opening round as her efficient right jab and straight steered her to a comfortable first-round victory.

The Filipina pug wisely used her reach advantage against the very physical Moroccan who liked to press inside and cut Villegas’ desired hitting distance.

Every time Moutakki stepped forward, Villegas calmly backpedaled while throwing a sneaky right jab that helped pile up her points.

However, the Moroccan boxer bounced back in the second frame as she hit Villegas with several well-timed uppercuts during clinch situations.

Also, Mouttaki displayed a better stand-up defensive stance that slowed Villegas’ jab efficiency down that convinced most of the judges.

It was a crucial final round for Villegas to bag the win, and her camp knew that in order to advance to the Round of 16, their ward would have to be the aggressor to possess the ring control advantage.

That then happened in the third period as Villegas hosted a firework offensive clinic, bullying Mouttaki with her two-punch combinations to dominate the round.

When everyone shouted, “last 30 seconds”, Villegas stepped on the gas pedal and put the cherry on top with another left-right punch combination.

With the momentum-boosting victory, Villegas will be setting up a Round of 16 duel with Roumaysa Boualam of Algeria on August 2, 2024.