The Last Stand of Nesthy Petecio
In a fight with incredibly high stakes, the ring entrances said it all.
Nesthy Petecio marched to the ring with her game face on, eyes focused on the ring as she shunned all fanfare and pizzazz. Moments later, Julia Szeremeta danced and hopped like she was in a French nightclub, gesturing to the fans with utter excitement.
In the end, youthful zest prevailed over veteran stiffness as Szeremeta scored a 4-1 split decision to upset the 2020 silver medalist from Davao del Sur.
If anyone’s in denial that this was an upset, they need to rewind the tape by several minutes and realize that the commentators were talking about Petecio in the preceding fight. Unfortunately for the Philippine boxing team, Petecio fell short of setting up a finals showdown with that bout’s winner (who turned out to be Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yu-ting).
That honor goes to Szeremeta. Here’s how she got the better of Petecio in this fight.
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The Pep in Her Step
Szeremeta has two weeks to go before she turns 21. Let that sink in.
At this stage in the featherweight tournament, the age thing was supposed to work in Petecio’s favor, as the 32-year-old had a bigger bank of experience to draw from. The 12-year age gap, however, manifested in an entirely different way.
Across all three rounds, Szeremeta was a fierce ball of energy that could not be extinguished. She stayed active on her feet, explored different angles to throw her punches, and even seemed quicker on the draw on multiple occasions. At the end of Round 1, Petecio’s corner made it a point to warn their fighter about Szeremeta’s fancy footwork posing a threat.
Simply put, Petecio did not reciprocate the vigor that the underdog brought to this fight. Though proficient at putting pressure on her opponents in her first three bouts, she showed more hesitation than ever before in Rounds 2 and 3 of this semifinal matchup. Petecio displayed some versatility by attempting more body shots in those rounds, but Szeremeta’s clean connections on her face clearly had more impact on the judges.
At times, Szeremeta went so far as to smile at Petecio, almost as if to egg her into a reckless flurry. Whether this a mental tactic or merely an expression of confidence is immaterial, as the Polish spitfire had every right to brag about her aggressive tone in this fight.
Mental Stamina
One does not get past Petecio simply by outpunching the Pinay slugger. The reality is, one has to outlast Petecio—and that’s exactly what Szeremeta did.
Petecio got off to a hot start on the scorecards when she got five 10s at the end of Round 1. In that round, she established her left hook well while mostly not allowing Szeremeta to cut off the ring. This round, however, ended up being her best showing in the fight.
Refusing to be daunted by Petecio’s flawless score, Szeremeta looked to have a more impressive showing in the second round. She accomplished this by landing more accurately on a variety of blows, including a right hook midway through the round and a left cross shortly before the bell. Though Petecio typically gains an advantage in close-quarter combat, Szeremeta got more than a few licks in during their exchanges in Round 2.
As the semifinal bout drew to a close, Szeremeta’s resolve kicked into highest gear when she emerged as the fresher, more dynamic fighter in Round 3. By this point, the volume of punches thrown and landed by Petecio had gone into steep decline. Much like the way she walked to the ring, Petecio appeared quite stiff as she attempted her combinations.
Giving up was the last thing on “Blessed” Nesthy’s mind, but in the end, Szeremeta’s mental resolve allowed her to secure a spot in the gold medal showdown. Withstanding the onslaught from Petecio in the first round, Szeremeta dug down deep and turned the fight in her favor in the last six minutes.
“Akala ko akin na ‘to this time,” Petecio told One Sports after the fight. “Sobrang grabe ‘yung tiwala ko sa sarili ko na makukuha ko siya pero medyo hindi tayo [pinalad] ngayong gabi sa panalo. Pero sobrang thankful pa rin ako kay Lord kasi maganda ‘yung pinakita ko.”
Though this loss was a bitter pill to swallow for Petecio, a moment of levity came after the split decision was announced. As Szeremeta celebrated with her ecstatic teammates in their corner, Petecio stood in the center of the ring and waved goodbye.
In Petecio’s patented style, “waved goodbye” meant raising her thumbs and pinkies, as if to gesture “Eyyy.”
That loose vibe eluded her in this fight. But, in the eyes of her loving nation, Nesthy Petecio—now a two-time Olympic medalist—is no loser by any stretch of the imagination.
