MANILA, Philippines – World women’s boxing champion Nesthy Petecio is now a just a step away from her maiden Olympics berth as she cruised to the 2020 Asia and Oceania Olympic boxing qualifiers quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 4 in Amman, Jordan. 

Petecio breezed past Sri Lanka’s Krismi Langkapurayalage for a unanimous 5-0 decision win in the women’s featherweight event. 

The 27-year-old world champion will now face Japan’s Sena Irie on Sunday, March 8 for a semifinal berth that will merit a trip to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

Only the top 4 female boxers in the featherweight division will qualify for the quadrennial meet that will run from July 24 to August 9 in Tokyo, Japan. 

Petecio dominated the bout from the get-go as she swept the 1st and 2nd rounds. Virtually sealing the match by the final round, the Filipina pug played a more defensive game as the clock wound down. 

The women’s featherweight No. 1 seed is riding on golden performances in the Women’s World Boxing Championships and the 2019 Southeast Asian Games. – Rappler.com