The Yerevan Mayor Cup turned to its final stage in Armenia’s capital city and the line-ups for the title contests are all confirmed today.
The total number of boxers is 71 in Armenia’s capital where the most popular category is the 65kg with the participation of 12 boxers. The competition is the last selection for the Armenian boxers before the European Elite Boxing Championships and also for the U23s.
All of the boxing fans can follow the Yerevan Mayor Cup in the official YouTube channel of the Armenian Boxing Federation.
The bout of the day
Another European U22 Champion boxer from the Armenian team, Artur Bazeyan was more successful in the event than Aslikyan, and he marched to the finals of the men’s 60kg weight class in Yerevan. The experienced boxer had to meet a super talented 20-year-old Uzbek, the Asian Youth Champion Samandar Olimov, but he used his routine to win their semi-final bout on home soil. Following his tight success over the Uzbek, Bazeyan will be boxing for the gold medal with Israel’s Abdallah Rahal tomorrow.
The surprise of the day
Israel’s Miroslav Kapuler is one of the most experienced athletes in the entire competition who joined the international stage of boxing representing Ukraine more than one decade ago. Kapuler moved up to the 75kg weight class but he had still the speed and the strength to beat such strong rivals as Armenia’s European Youth silver medallist Aghvan Aleksanyan therefore Israel’s veteran will now face for the title with Arshak Bablumyan.
The Round-Up
Armenia’s Baregham Harutyunyan is a veteran boxer in the elite national team but he is still hungry for the next successes. The 50kg boxer eliminated his teammate, Hovhannes Harutyunyan in the semi-final of the Yerevan Mayor Cup and he will now meet Ruben Garboyan for the title of the event.
Uzbekistan’s Shakhzod Muzafarov had a wonderful achievement five years ago when he claimed a gold medal at the Youth World Boxing Championships in Kielce. The 24-year-old Uzbek eliminated Israel’s Farid Hreish and Armenia’s Suren Rubinyan during his way to the finals at the 55kg. Muzafarov’s opponent for the title will be the young Vagharshak Keyan who had a clear success over the European U22 Champion Ruslan Aslikyan.
Four of the strong Armenians advanced to the semi-finals at the 65kg weight class, Artur Mkrtchyan, Artur Shakhpazyan, Rafayel Nersesyan and Armen Sargsyan in the Yerevan Mayor Cup. Mkrtchyan and Nersesyan faced in the final of the 2023 edition of the Armenian Youth National Championships and their repeat match will be coming tomorrow in the elite international event.
Artush Hovhannisyan competed already in the 2014 edition of the European Junior Boxing Championships and he represented Team Armenia at the 2019 World Boxing Championships as well. The local hope decided to return to the boxing events and he won two out of the three rounds against Cambodia’s No.1, the ex-Uzbek Anvar Nasredinov in their semi-final meeting. Artush will now meet another Hovhannisyan in the final, Alik, who eliminated Israel’s newcomer, Jonatan Barashi today.
Uzbekistan’s defending World Champion Turabek Khabibullayev is one of the big stars in our present days and the 22-year-old boxer uses the Yerevan Mayor Cup as a preparation for the next big goals. The Uzbek overcame Iran’s Hadi Mohammadnezhad in the attacks and he had a massive performance in the day of the semi-finals therefore he will face with Armenia’s Davit Simonyan for the title.