Villegas settles for bronze after semis loss

MANILA – Aira Villegas' Cinderella run in the women's 50-kilogram boxing division of the Paris Olympics came to an end early Wednesday (Philippine Time) after losing in the semifinals to Turkiye's Buse Naz Cakiroglu as the entire boxing event shifted to the Roland Garros Stadium in downtown Paris.

Despite the defeat, Villegas is taking home the bronze medal.

Cakiroglu was just too much for Villegas, rightfully proving why she was the third seed in the competition.

Cakiroglu began her boxing clinic in the first round through more accurate shots, and a right straight at the 2:22 mark of the round wobbled Villegas, referee Wade Peterson stepped in to give her the standing eight-count.

Villegas thought she had her moment just before the final minute of Round 2 when she seemed like she knocked Cakiroglu down with a right hook.

However, Peterson, whose scorecards in bouts involving Filipino fighters as a judge have been criticized by some boxing fans, just ruled it a slip, and all five judges still gave the round to Cakiroglu.

Villegas could still not solve Cakiroglu's puzzle in Round 3 as the judges all scored perfect 30s to the latter, who will face top-seeded Chinese pugilist Wu Yu, a 4-1 split decision winner over Kazakhstan's Nazym Kyzaibay, for the gold early Saturday (Philippine Time).

Radoslav Simon and Manuel Vilarino both thought Villegas was overpowered as they credited one round each in the bout as if she was knocked down.

Simon gave the 10-8 in Round 1, where Villegas was given a standing eight, while Vilarino did a similar score in Round 3. (PNA)