Villegas strikes; Paalam bids goodbye

The memories of late boxing chief Ed Picson lingers through the heart of Aira Villegas, powering her to a quarterfinal victory in the women’s 50-kilogram event of the Paris Olympics early Sunday at the North Paris Arena.

The 29-year-old Villegas said the late Picson was the first to believe in her, convincing her that she would make it to the biggest and most prestigious sports conclave someday.

Picson’s foresight on the Tacloban City pug was right on the money as she displayed tremendous skills and grace under pressure in beating Wassila Lkhadiri of France that sent her to the semifinals and assured her of at least a bronze medal.

“I dedicate this win to Sir Ed. I’m happy and sad at the same time because I was able to win and get a medal but he’s not here to see it,” an emotional Villegas said.

“He was the one who recruited me back then.”

Picson has been involved with ABAP since 2009 up until his death in 2023.

He was instrumental in the surge of Philippine boxing, creating a new breed of heroes like Tokyo Olympics medalists Carlo Paalam, Nesthy Petecio and Eumir Marcial.

Aside from Picson, Villegas admitted that she was also motivated to silence the French crowd and avenge her loss last year to Lkhadiri.

“She beat me last year 3-2. I told myself to get the last round,” Villegas said.

“I don’t care how loud the crowd was. I just wanted to silence them.”

Villegas will shoot for a spot in the gold medal round when she faces Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Buse Naz Çakıroğlu of Turkey in the semifinal on Roland-Garros Stadium on Wednesday at 4:18 a.m. (Manila time).

Meanwhile, Carlo Paalam also expressed sadness over the turn of events after facing Charlie Senior of Australia in the featherweight quarterfinal round.

Paalam, a silver medalist in the Tokyo Summer Games, said he believes that he had done enough to convince the judges that he deserves to advance to the semifinals.

“My hits were on point while he (Senior) couldn’t land a punch on me. But it happens and I want to focus on improving my shortcomings,” Paalam said.

“I’m sorry to everyone. I gave my all in the match.”

Even Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) secretary general Atty. Wharton Chan wasn’t convinced, believing that the Filipino was the rightful winner in the crucial match.

In a social media post, Chan said Paalam’s setback could have been “cooked” in favor of the England-born Australian puncher.

“Cooking show!” Chan shortly said after witnessing the furious exchanges of blows in the first two rounds before Paalam stood his ground in the third using crisp punches and solid defense.

The judges, however, still awarded the victory to the 22-year-old Pacific Games champion, sending the Filipino to the exit together with Eumir Marcial and Hergie Bacyadan.

Paalam said although he isn’t in perfect shape, he still wants to continue fighting and lead the country to its second Olympic gold medal.

“Disappointed. I’m patient even though I have a lot of injuries in my legs, my feet, and my shoulder. It’s still painful but I’m really pushing because I don’t want to disappoint the whole Philippines,” Paalam said.

“For now, I just want to rest and recover after this.”