Petecio begins Asian Games redemption with stoppage win

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Nesthy Petecio bagged a massive statement win in her Asian Games redemption tour after making quick work of Jordan’s Mays Alreem Abukhadijah, scoring an impressive second-round stoppage to advance to the quarterfinals in the women’s 60-kilogram weight class on Sept. 26, 2026, at Nishio Gymnasium in Japan.

The two-time Olympic medalist displayed her sheer power in her debut fight, notching back-to-back second-round standing eight-counts that forced the referee to officially stop the bout at the 1:51 mark.

Clinical and calculated, the experienced Petecio neutralized Abukhadijah’s ring aggression with efficient counterpunching and elite footwork to kick off her opening-round performance on a high note.

Despite Abukhadijah throwing a higher volume of punches, Petecio evaded most of the hits and banked on timely left hooks that gradually increased her points tally.

Abukhadijah tried to salvage the round after unleashing a barrage of haymakers in the final 15 seconds, but Petecio wisely backpedaled and threw a lead right jab to seal the lead across all scorecards.

All hell broke loose after Petecio spotted Abukhadijah’s weaknesses and capitalized on moments when the Jordanian let her guard down after throwing a five-punch combination.

The Filipina boxer scored the first standing eight-count at the 2:32 mark, tagging Abukhadijah with a snappy overhand right that immediately drew loud cheers from the PHL crowd.

Petecio’s winning moment came 30 seconds later after she hit Abukhadijah with a clean and devastating left overhand.

The match referee officially waved off the fight to protect Abukhadijah from further damage despite one standing eight-count remaining, resulting in a “Referee Stops Contest” decision.

With the lopsided win, Petecio will advance to the quarterfinals against China’s Yang Chengyu, who earlier nipped Thailand’s Punrawee Ruenros in a tightly contested 3-2 split decision.

If Petecio wins against the Chinese bet, the decorated boxer will secure at least a bronze medal for the PHL delegation.