Filipina boxer Aira Villegas produced another fine display to pull off an upset against Algeria’s Roumaysa Boualam in the round-of-16 of the women’s 50-kilogram division in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It’s a double celebration for Villegas, who is turning 29.

The Tacloban City-native shocked the second seed in their weight class at the North Paris Arena yesterday (Philippine time).

All five judges scored the bout in favor of the Filipina, who, for the second straight match, wobbled in the second round, but showed her poise in the third frame where Villegas regained control.

Boualam, a two-time African Games gold medalist, received a bye into the round-of-16 but was immediately put on notice by Villegas in the first round as the Filipina started off aggressively and landed the bigger shots.

But Boualam recovered to win three of the five scorecards in the second, using her jab to score against Villegas.

The Filipina roared back in the third, winning their exchanges and finding a target for her straight left.

Villegas will be up against a French bet in the quarterfinals — Wassila Lkhadiri, who edged Ireland’s Daina Moorehouse in their own round-of-16 bout.

A victory over Lkhadiri would assure Villegas of a medal.

Villegas had advanced to the round-of-16 after a unanimous decision win over Yasmine Mouttaki of Morocco last Monday, July 29.

A bronze medalist in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, Villegas punched her ticket to Paris last March in the 1st Boxing World Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy. (ABS-CBN News)