TOKYO—Nesthy Petecio dominated Republic of the Congo’s Marcelat Sakobi Matshu, 5-0, in the first bout of the boxing competitions of the Tokyo Olympics that went full throttle after a unique opening ceremony that was closed to fans the night before.
And what a statement the 2019 world champion did.
Petecio bucked a tentative start with powerful connections in second and third rounds to fashion out the lopsided contest and easily advance to the Round of 16 in the women’s featherweight division.
After a shaky first round which she eventually ruled, Petecio pressed on in the second and with her lateral movement that created clear angles, she landed her power blows.
The strategy continued in the third and with occasional heavy combinations coupled with a relentless defensive effort, the pride of Davao sealed the win—30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27 and 30-27.
The victory, however, could only be a warmup for the Filipina.
Petecio takes on tough opponent in the Final 16—Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-Ting, a former world champion and the top seed in the 54 -to 57-kg division here. The fight is set on Monday at 12:39 p.m. Manila time.
The 25-year-old Lin was the women’s bantamweight champion in the 2018 World Championships in New Delhi. A year later, she climbed to the heavier featherweight division and immediately made an impact with a third-place finish in the 2019 World Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia, where Petecio was the champion in the same division.
The Taiwanese, however, was the featherweight titlist in the same year in the Asian Championships, where Petecio only finished ninth.
The 29-year-old Davao del Sur native Petecio is coming off an extensive training camp in Thailand with fellow boxing Olympians Irish Magno and Carlo Paalam.
World No. 25 Magno, meanwhile, takes on 17th-ranked Christine Ongare of Kenya in the preliminary round of the women’s flyweight division on Sunday.
Ongare was the first female Kenyan boxer to win a Commonwealth Games medal in the sport, claiming bronze in the flyweight category at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia.
On Monday, men’s flyweight No. 25 Carlo Paalam battles 25-year-old Irishman Brendan Irvine, ranked No. 32.