Petecio on verge of guaranteed bronze, edges French foe to enter quarters

MANILA, Philippines -- Nesthy Petecio is one win away from bagging the Philippines’ first medal in the Paris Olympics after defeating France’s Amina Zidani in their women's 57kg round of 16 clash early Saturday morning (Manila time).

Four judges scored the bout in favor of the 32-year-old Petecio, while one ruled in favor of Zidani.

After a slow first round that gave the hometown bet a slight edge, the two boxers ramped up the action in the second round.

Petecio became more aggressive and landed clean punches.

At the 1:44 mark of the second round, the Filipina landed a looping right hook that knocked the second-seeded boxer off-balance, both of her gloves touching the canvas. But the referee did not rule it a knockdown.

With the newfound and much-needed momentum, the Olympic silver medalist kept the pressure up in last frame, swinging in a barrage of punches that found Zidani's head. Petecio maintained the aggression to earn the judges' nod.

Petecio will face China’s Zichun Xu, who defeated Colombia’s Valeria Arboleda Mendoza in their round of 16 bout to advance.

The quarterfinals of the division will be on August 4, 9:30 p.m. (Manila time).