The U17 finals delivered high quality of boxing in the fourth competition day at the Boxam U15-U17-U19 at the Camilo Cano Sports Hall in La Nucia, Spain today afternoon.
Altogether 246 female and male boxers from 21 nations from four continents are competing in the new edition of the Boxam Tournament.
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Iceland, Kuwait, Latvia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Serbia, host Spain, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Venezuela are participating in the Boxam U15-U17-U19 Tournament.
The bout of the day
Spain’s Aitor Ibai Gomez-Espinosa and Palestine’s Atef Al-Shareef both had hard road to the finals of the 60kg and they had a different game play today. The Palestinian was a competitive rival for the local hero and Gomez-Espinosa did not underestimate him in this close U17 final bout. The Spanish was effective in the decision-making third round and he earned the gold medal in this busy weight class.
The surprise of the day
Turkmenistan’s Yazgeldi Amanmedov stopped his quarter-final opponent but he could expect a harder battle against Spain’s Rodrigo Sanchez Herranz in the last four of the 60kg. Amanmedov had the significant height advantage in this semi-final but Sanchez used his speed and strong defensive skills to gain the control in the first round. Amanmedov moved forward more in the second round but Sanchez countered him therefore the Spanish will face for the gold medal with Luis Francisco Hedo.
The Round-Up
Mexico has amazing boxers in the smallest weight class in the U19 age group and two of their aces such as Alan Ocampo and Gael Rivas met in the first contest of the fourth competition day. Rivas started their semi-final better than Ocampo and his teammate also received a warning from the referee which guaranteed his massive advantage on the scorecards after two rounds. Rivas still moved forward in the third round and he controlled this 50kg semi-final to meet Ukraine’s Mykhailo Sydorenko in the final tomorrow.
Spain’s Aaron Santurio, the European U19 Championships competitor, faced Mexico’s Juan Gazca in the semi-final of the 70kg which delivered a close fight between the two youngsters. The taller Spaniard tried to keep the safest distance but Gazca had the speed to make this bout open until the last round. The Gijon-based Santurio worked hard in the final three minutes and he joined the title bout in La Nucia where he will now meet Ukraine’s Oleksandr Kravchenko.
Netherlands’ Marciano Pikero and France’s Adem Atigui both had crucial battles in the quarter-finals but due to their great finish, both joined the medal phase of the 80kg. Among them, the energetic Pikero started the first round better and he analyzed his opponent well before their semi-final. The ex-kick-boxer Dutch followed the instructions of his coaches, Mr. Max Van der Pas and Mr. Patrick Mesters, and he will be boxing for the title with Ukraine’s Tymur Karaivan who knocked out his semi-final opponent.
Spain’s Samuel Antezana claimed a silver medal at the recent European U19 Boxing Championships and he used the recent days for intense training after the success in Loznica. The Spaniard met Poland’s Antoni Bal in the semi-finals of the 85kg and he began the first round in aggressive style of boxing. Antezana proved his promising skills and he won their meeting unanimously to join the final to Ukraine’s strong Hlieb Kvach.
France’s Emma Zambeau had a great semi-final victory in La Nucia and the 16-year-old talent overcame her final opponent, Spain’s Amaya Herrero in the attacks. The French landed her jabs with perfect timing and she had the full control of the opening U17 title contest from the first seconds. Zambeau had the fantastic performance in the final of the women’s 52kg and she earned the first U17 gold medal in the Boxam.
Spain’s European U15 bronze medallist Zoe Montero had a hard job against Puerto Rico’s Kirriat Portalatin in the final of the 54kg but she tried to use the best strategy today. The 15-year-old Spaniard moved a lot on feet to find the best attacking positions in the first round and she used her range also well. Montero had the powerful attacks in the third round which delivered for them a stoppage and she bagged the second U17 title in La Nucia.
Two Spaniards as Laura Gutierrez and Cora Gonzalez De Paz met in the final of the 46kg weight class which delivered same level of boxing between them. Gutierrez was slightly better in the first but Gonzalez performed better in the second round therefore the final decision was depended on their actions in the third. Gutierrez was punctual and she found the best distance in this final and she earned Spain’s second U17 female gold medal.
France’s second female U17 gold medal was achieved by Chloe Lachelier who had the tactical superiority against Alierys Cruz of Puerto Rico at the 60kg final. Nora Gonzalez delivered a small sensation in the final of the 48kg when she had the great finish to beat Irene Bolanos, a more experienced Spanish talent. Spain’s European U15 Champion Adriana Munoz dominated the last female final against Portugal’s Iris Neves at the 50kg.
France’s Djibril Bouaoun had a sensational success over Turkmenistan’s Ezbermuhammet Myratdurdyyev in the semi-finals of the 63kg weight class and he continued his winning path against Samuel Morales of Puerto Rico. The next French, Ange Santiago suffered a quick loss to Turkmenistan’s Yunus Masharipov who proved a fantastic performance in this competition at the 66kg.
Romania’s Cristi Andrei Casu, the European U15 Champion, proved his amazing strength in his final at the 46kg, he stopped Spain’s Joel Gutierrez in the second round, bagging his nation’s first U17 title. Romania’s second gold medal in La Nucia was taken by Alexandru Butan who knocked out Spain’s Lazaro Hernandez at the 50kg.
Serbia’s Andrija Trajkovic had a close final against Turkmenistan’s Samir Saburov and he invested all of his energies to the decisive last round. The 16-year-old Serbian gave in 110% to win this 80kg final against such a strong and experienced boxer as Saburov. Serbia’s Ognjen Staletovic caused a surprise in the next U17 final when he defeated Turkmenistan’s Asian U15 Champion Atabek Hojyyev, one of the best boxers of the Boxam.
Spain’s Elijah Immanuel Sanchez claimed the gold medal at the Bornemissza Memorial Tournament in Hungary this May and he continued his winning series in the Boxam where he was too smart for Rayan Haryz Et-Tayeb at the 54kg. The last gold medal of the U17 finals went to Romania following Raian Nicholas Cola defeated Serbia’s Todor Lucic at the 57kg.