Ilongga boxer grabs first win in Tokyo Olympics debut

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Iloilo’s pride Irish Magno came out surging with confidence in her first Tokyo Olympics win in the women’s boxing flyweight division Round of 32.

The native of Janiuay town used all the advantages she had against Kenya’s Christine Ongare as she connected more jabs and straights with her longer reach.

Magno dominated the score sheets and cruised her way to a 5-0 unanimous decision victory and was all over Ongare for most of their three round duel.

However, it was not an easy start for the Ilongga slugger as Ongare quickly opened round one aggressively and used her speed to land some punches.

Magno recovered in the last one minute of the first round and was able to land heavy bombs and finally got the distance she wanted to execute her shots efficiently.

Using her reach advantage, Magno overwhelmed the Kenyan star with her volume of punches that just kept on connecting.

The win qualified Magno for the women’s flyweight Round of 16 on Thursday, July 29, and is seeking to win more and vie for the coveted gold medal.