Possible boxing exclusion at 2028 Olympics further fuels Petecio’s Paris gold chase

MANILA, Philippines – Whenever an athlete loses, there’s always a notion of consolation that they can try again next time.

However, for Filipina boxing star and reigning Olympic silver medalist Nesthy Petecio – one of the four Filipino athletes who brought home a record medal haul in the Tokyo Games – there may not really be a “next time” on the world stage whether she wants it or not.

With the International Boxing Association (IBA) being banned from handling Olympic tournaments since 2021 due to various issues, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) set a 2025 deadline to “find a new suitable boxing body” or else risk the sport being scrapped in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, per a report from the Associated Press.

That is why the 32-year-old Petecio, who is contemplating living a “normal life” sooner rather than later, is more than inspired to give her all in what may likely be a forced Olympics swan song in Paris this July.

“If you’ve read the news, apparently there’s no more boxing in the 2028 Olympics, so why would I continue training for that level?” she asked in jest at the Allianz-Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) memorandum of agreement signing event in Makati City on Thursday, June 20.

“My retirement is not yet sure. I’m not getting any younger, but I want to keep going, especially in the next Asian Games where I’ve won zero medals, so I really want a last push there too. But in the Olympics, this may really be the last.”

Petecio, who has stated in the past that she wants to explore non-sports opportunities created by her Olympic silver medal win, says that doing her all in whatever tournaments she has left is the only right way in giving back to the sport that literally gave her a new life.

“Boxing has helped me in so many ways. I was beat up, but I was able to help my family, give them a house, a car, things that I only dreamed of before,” she continued in Filipino. “Every time my nieces and nephews ask me money for food, before I struggled to give, but now I can.”

Truly enough, at this point, Petecio’s dreams have all come true, save for worthy bonus blessings like the Olympic gold.

She no longer needs to put her body on the line, but she wants to regardless, and boxing fans should enjoy every performance she puts on while they still can. – Rappler.com