Petecio too good for French pride

PARIS – Nesthy Petecio is a fighter experienced enough to know the need to dig deeper to beat a home bet and home crowd.

Dig deep she did to get past French boxer Amina Zidani and march to the quarterfinals of the women’s featherweight division at the North Paris Arena Friday night.

She knows how to play the home crowd, too.

Entering the fight venue rocking to chants of “Amina, Amina,” Petecio even summoned the crowd to get louder.

Like in her previous bout, she absorbed it as “Pilipinas! Pilipinas!”

Then she took care of business, putting up a methodical effort to clip Zidani, silence the crowd and not allow a hometown decision to come into play.

Coming through with a 4-1 win, the Tokyo silver medalist moved on the cusp of another Olympic podium finish.

Petecio fights for a place in the semifinals as she next tangles with Chinese Xu Zichun at 9:30 p.m. Sunday (Manila time).

“One bout at a time pa rin. Mahirap baka matapilok tayo. Isa-isa lang,” said Petecio.

Against Zidani, Petecio had to deal with things carefully – the fighting style of the Frenchwoman and the judging involving a home fighter.

“Noong una, ang game plan kung maaari hindi ako ma-touch, dapat ako ang maka-touch. Nagulat ako sa score… expected ko na 3-2 pero para sa akin. Nagulat ako sa kanya (napunta),” said Petecio.

She then engaged in aggressive fighting, working hard to the body, knowing Zidani is weak in the midsection.

“At tinuloy-tuloy ko na,” said the prized fighter from Davao.

“Kailangan pa rin sa third round kasi home crowd (might sway the judging). Alam natin ‘yan. Ilang beses na akong nadale sa host country,” she pointed out.

For coach Don Abnett, Petecio’s slow start was about picking punches.

“She knew she had to pick punches and she picked it up well. She did what she had to do,” said ABAP’s Australian coach.

Throwing volumes in complete domination in the second round, Petecio connected with a hook that sent Zidani down. Alas, the referee ruled it a slip.

“Knockdown ‘yon, pero hindi binilangan,” rued Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino.

In the end, there’s no stopping Petecio from progressing closer to the medal fights.