All news tagged NesthyPetecio

Undefeated professional boxers Eumir Marcial and Weljon Mindoro, together with Olympic medalists Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, will spearhead the Philippines’ 13-man boxing delegation for the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand next month.

The lineup was formally announced by the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) during a press conference in Pasig City on Wednesday.

ABAP Secretary General Marcus Manalo shared: “We have a total of 13 boxers — seven men and six women — which is the maximum number we can field for the SEA Games, so we are sending a full lineup.”

Marcial and Mindoro: Powering the Men's Team

Four-time SEA Games champion Eumir Marcial returns to his Olympic weight class at 80kg, while pro standout Weljon Mindoro will compete in the 75kg division. Marcial brings in a spotless 7-0 pro record, while Mindoro holds a 15-0-1 slate.

Marcial acknowledged the expectations on him: “Kapag bayan ang nangangailangan ng laban, lalo na sa SEA Games, priority ko talaga yan… Medyo pressure kasi fans expect gold, but amateur boxing requires a different preparation.”

Mindoro, making his SEA Games debut, expressed gratitude: “Nagpapasalamat ako sa opportunity… Isa akong napili. Mag-aadjust ako sa amateur techniques para dito.”

POC President Abraham Tolentino is confident both pros can deliver podium finishes: “Definitely, God willing, it will be a podium for the two. Pipilitin natin na ginto yan.”

Notable Absence: Carlo Paalam

Olympic silver medalist Carlo Paalam will not compete after withdrawing from a box-off due to illness and insufficient preparation. Manalo explained: “He caught a bad flu and couldn’t train for weeks… He respected the selection process and timeline, and begged off.”

Women’s Division Led by Olympians

Petecio (60kg) and Villegas (50kg) team up with Olympian Hergie Bacyadan (70kg). Completing the roster are Ofelia Magno (48kg), Claudine Veloso (54kg), and Riza Pasuit (57kg).

Limited Weight Classes Due to Host Restrictions

The Philippines can only participate in 13 of 17 weight classes due to host restrictions. “We’re limited to seven of nine weight classes in men’s boxing and six of eight in women’s,” Manalo noted.

He added that the inclusion of pro fighters reflects ABAP’s evolving approach: “It’s a good opportunity to show that pro boxers can also be part of the national team… Our objective is always to send the best lineup possible.”

Poised for a Strong Showing

Most of the team is already in Thailand for training camp and will stay there until the Games. The Philippines aims to surpass its 2023 SEA Games medal tally of 4 golds, 5 silvers, and 1 bronze.

Good news to all boxing enthusiasts. This sport will get its spot back in the program of the LA Olympics in 2028. 

This good news was brought by the Association of Boxing Alliances in the Philippines (ABAP) after attending the World Boxing  board meeting last, March 18, 2025. 

Chairman and Philippine Olympic team chef-de-mission Ricky Vargas heralded this good news not only for the country and the Filipino sports officials but for the sport and all the boxers. 

“We are back in the Olympics with an international federation (World Boxing) recognized by the IOC (International Olympic Committee). The Philippines made a principled decision to leave AIBA (the old boxing governing body that lost IOC recognition in 2023). We took a principled risk to join (the new) World Boxing. We were first and got elected to the WB board. Now, wow, we are back in the LA Olympics, WB is getting its recognition from the IOC and is here to stay,” said Vargas. 

Now that boxing’s place in LA is all but a formality, the Pinoy boxers can go about their Olympic quest in 2028 without a cloud of uncertainty. The Philippines has captured four silver medals and six bronzes in the quadrennial Games and will continue hunting for the breakthrough gold in the next Olympiad.

“It feels like boxing was reborn and is here to stay,” said Vargas.

It can be recalled that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) set aside the inclusion of boxing in the upcoming 2028 LA Olympics due to the issues and controversies seen in the 2024 Paris Olympics, one of which was the gender issue.

Meanwhile, Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino, for his part, said he had known all along that boxing would stay in the Olympics.

“It’s expected because it’s a favorite sport played by all, it’s just a matter of time,” said Tolentino.

The PhilCycling chief and Tagaytay City Mayor also said it was just fitting to have boxing since it was in the United States where the sport was first played in the quadrennial meet – in 1904.

“It’s been in the Olympics since 1904, in the USA, and so for LA too,” Tolentino added.

Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas, the two bronze medalists in the 2024 Paris Olympics, will be the recipients of special recognition at the 2024 San Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association (SMC-PSA) Awards Night, to be held on January 27 in the grand ballroom at the Manila Hotel.

Petecio and Villegas, who accounted for a pair of bronze medals during the Summer Games, will be recognized with the President’s Award by the Philippine Sportswriters Association.

Petecio emerged bronze winner in the women’s 57kg division, while Villegas secured the same medal in the 50 kg division.

The bronze was the second Olympic medal won by the 32-year-old Petecio, adding to the silver that she bagged in the 2020 edition of the Games in Tokyo. In doing so, she also became the first ever Filipino boxer to clinch back-to-back podium finishes in the quadrennial meet.

For the 29-year-old Villegas, it was a proud moment right in her Olympic debut as an underdog out of the compact five-man Philippine boxing team that competed.

Aside from the two fearless lady boxers, gymnast Carlos Yulo is going to be feted with the highest honor as 2024 Athlete of the Year, wherein he added to the two glittering gold medals that he won in securing the best ever showing for Team Philippines in a century of participation in the quadrennial Games.

According to PSA president Nelson Beltran, these Filipino athletes deserve high accolades for their own bright moments in the Paris Games, providing an extra push to the glorious Philippine performance. 

A year to remember in Philippine sports annals will be celebrated by the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) in grand fashion as it holds its annual Awards Night on January 27, 2025 at the historic Manila Hotel.

 The country’s oldest media organization headed by its president Nelson Beltran, sports editor of The Philippine Star, is set to honor the best and brightest personalities and entities who made the country proud in the year that’s about to end.

 In a memorable 2024 campaign, the Philippines elevated its standards by gaining a first ever double gold medal in the Olympics courtesy of dynamic gymnast Carlos Yulo during the 33rd edition of the Games in Paris, France.

 The feat came four years after lady weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz gave the country a breakthrough Olympic gold in Tokyo, and transpired during the same period when the Filipinos commemorate their 100 years of participation in the quadrennial showcase.

 The Paris stint also saw Philippine boxing rising to the occasion again by winning a pair of bronze medals through the robust fists of Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas. 

Yulo and the rest of the Filipino Olympians including the country’s representatives to the Paralympic Games, will be at the forefront of the traditional festivities where the awarding of the Athlete of the Year serves as its highlight.

 Another special part of the program is the induction of another Filipino great to the PSA Hall of Fame. The late track and field legend Lydia De Vega was the last celebrated athlete to be recognized with the honor.

 In celebration of the country’s centennial participation in the Summer Games, past Filipino Olympians will likewise have their own moments during the awards ceremony.

 The customary awards like the Executive of the Year, National Sports Association (NSA) of the Year, President’s Award, and top performers such as Mr. Basketball, Ms. Volleyball, among others, are also going to be handed out.

 To be recognized too, are major awardees in different sports, the usual citations to different sports figures and individuals, and the regular Tony Siddayao Awards and MILO Awards for junior athletes.

 Not to be forgotten with a prayer and minute of silence are the personalities who passed away in the year 2024.