The Philippine boxing team is sending a stacked roster to the 20th Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan to end the country’s drought for boxing gold. But even for a lineup stocked with Olympians, the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (Abap) knows that golden finishes will be a tall task.
“We have seven boxers. It’s going to be a really tough task, and the boxers know that. But I’m very excited for them,” said Abap president Marcus Manalo at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum held at the PSC media room on Tuesday.
Carrying the flag’s colors for the Philippine boxing team are Nesthy Petecio (60 kilograms), Aira Villegas (51 kg), Carlo Paalam (55 kg), Riza Pasuit (54 kg), Junmilardo Ogayre (60 kg), and Norlan Petecio (70 kg). The seventh member, Eumir Marcial (80 kg), is still a big question mark as he is set to fight professionally on September 19 against Omar Huerta.
“We’re hoping that he will be fit to box and fresh after his pro fight so he can fly straight from Los Angeles to Nagoya,” Manalo said of Marcial.
Olympians to Lead the Philippine Boxing Team
Whether or not Marcial makes it, the Philippine boxing team should still have fighting chances to win at least one gold—and nab a couple of podium finishes maybe—with Olympians Petecio, Villegas, and Paalam showing the way.
Petecio and Paalam are two-time Olympians, with the former winning silver in Tokyo and bronze in Paris, and the latter bagging silver also in Tokyo. Villegas, who was recently named as one of the country’s flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Asiad, copped bronze at the 2024 Paris Games. Adding Marcial to the mix, if things go according to plan, should only bolster the Philippine boxing team’s chances of nabbing that elusive gold. Manalo, for his part, is cautiously optimistic, noting how being an Olympian means being a bigger target for opponents looking to make names for themselves.
“We have our Olympic medalists, but that could work for or against you because if you’re a competitor, those are the boxers you want to beat,” Manalo said.
While the country’s Olympians are expected to lead the Philippine boxing team, Pasuit, Ogayre, and Petecio, Nesthy’s male sibling, are no pushovers. Pasuit is highly decorated herself, having bagged silver in the 2019 and 2023 SEA Games, and bronze in 2015, 2021, and 2025. Ogayre, on the other hand, copped bronze in the 2021 Asian Championships, while the younger Petecio earned silver in the 2023 SEA Games.
Boxing at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games begins on September 21, 2026, starting with the men’s preliminary rounds. The women’s preliminary bouts kick off the following day on September 22, 2026. The semis are set for September 29 and 30, with the finals scheduled on October 3
