AIRA Villegas finally met someone who was more than her match early yesterday morning (Wednesday night in France) in Turkish No. 3 seed Buse Naz Cakiroglu, who ended the Filipina boxer’s maiden Olympic campaign with a unanimous decision win in their light flyweight semifinal match at the Arena Paris Nord.
Cakiroglu, the light flyweight silver medalist in the Tokyo Olympic Games three years ago, won the nod of all five judges, with three giving her the same scores of 30-27 and two others scoring it 30-26.
Villegas will bring home a bronze from Paris while becoming the country’s second medalist after ace gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo garnered two golds at the Bercy Arena over the weekend.
Given the quality and class of her opponent, the 29-year-old native of Ormoc, Leyte said she was not disappointed.
“Hindi naman po ako super disappointed, kasi ginawa ko ‘yung best ko,” Villegas said.
“Magaling talaga (Cakiroglu), aminado ako, magaling talaga. Pero for me, nagawa ko ‘yung best ko.
“Sa lahat ng Pilipino na napuyat, sorry. Nakapag-uwi po ako ng medal, sana proud pa rin kayo sa akin.”
Her best round was near the end of the second where she hit her foe with a right-left-right combination that sent Cakiroglu on the seat of her pants.
That galvanized Cakiroglu, who punished Villegas during furious exchanges in the third and final round.
Reflecting on her maiden Olympic journey, Villegas said she was proud of herself, both in her younger version that ground it out to make it to Paris and for her future self that will continue to work.
“Sa younger self ko I know that you are already proud of me,” Villegas said.
“To my future self, mas lalo ka pa magiging proud. Gagawin ko [ang lahat] na ‘yung pangarap ko na bago man lang mag-retire sa boxing, patutugtugan ako ng national anthem ng bansa natin sa Olympics.”
In a fight of attrition, Villegas engaged Cakiroglu in a furious fight, but the Philippine bet appeared to get the worse of the exchanges. Things quickly turned for the worse for Villegas as she received a standing eight-count in the first round.
Looking to even the score, Villegas was more aggressive in the second and appeared to score a knockdown following an exchange. However, referee Wade Peterson ruled otherwise.
The story followed the same script through the third, with Cakiroglu getting the better of the exchanges.
