Azerbaijan’s earned seven out of the thirteen available U17 male gold medals at the 10th edition of the World Junior Nations’ Cup in Vrbas, Serbia but the host country, Kazakhstan and Montenegro also reached titles.
Boxers who were born in 2010 and in 2011 were eligible to participate in the U17 part of the Junior Nations Cup in Vrbas, while athletes from the younger 2012 and 2013 age groups attended for the medals in the U15 level.
The World Junior Nations’ Cup provided a fantastic opportunity for this age group to prepare well to the upcoming European U17 Boxing Championships which will be held in Budva, Montenegro on October 1-11, additionally to Türkiye’s event, the European U15 Boxing Championships as well.
The bout of the day
Serbia’s Andrija Trajkovic and Azerbaijan’s Shukar Aliyev both claimed a bronze medal at the 2024 edition of the European Schoolboys Boxing Championships therefore their final was highly anticipated in Vrbas. The Serbian, who has just moved up to the 80kg weight category, did not underestimate Azerbaijan’s pride, and he kept the focus from the first seconds until the last. Trajkovic underlined in their final that he is in top shape and he claimed the second gold medal for Serbia after Dusan Nekic.
The surprise of the day
Kazakhstan’s second finalist, Sayan Tokhtarbekov faced also a boxer from Azerbaijan, Nihat Mammadli who is another technician talent at the 48kg weight category. Tokhtarbekov, who missed the medal in the latest Kazakhstan U17 Junior National Championships, exceeded his previous level of boxing and he defeated the Azeri hope in Vrbas.
The Round-up
Kazakhstan’s Bekzat Magzhan eliminated Azerbaijan’s Hasrat Mammadov in the first semi-final of the men’s 46kg weight class and he joined the finals in Vrbas. The 16-year-old Kazakh had to meet another boxer from Azerbaijan’s Aydin Shahbazov, but he looked confident from the first exchanges. The Kazakh youngster used his best weapons, excellent counter-attacks and long-distance shots to beat his second rival from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan’s third finalist in the event, Rustam Nasibov succeeded over Serbia’s David Simic and he had the clear dominance to take his nation’s first gold medal in the World Junior Nations’ Cup. His teammate, Ismayil Nasirzada had an easier way to take the title of the competition as he stopped Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Filip Bukalina in the first round and he bagged the gold medal at the 52kg.
Montenegro’s Strahinja Mrdak is one of their aces in the U17 national squad which has been preparing hard for the European U17 Boxing Championships. Mrdak, who also competed at the Bornemissza Memorial Tournament two weeks ago, was way too smart for Azerbaijan’s Elijan Musazada and Serbia’s Ilhan Sacirovic at the 54kg. The referee counted his Serbian opponent in the final and Mrdak’s skills overmatched his opponent’s one during the fourth session of the event.
Montenegro’s next finalist, Nikola Raicevic claimed a bronze medal at the recent European U17 Boxing Championships in Germany and he can still compete in this age group in 2026 as well. Montenegro’s pride won two out of the three rounds on the judges’ scorecards against Azerbaijan’s Ali Jamalzada and he bagged their second title in Vrbas.
Azerbaijan has an excellent U17 team and their next strong performer, Ali Abbasli, dominated his final against Croatia’s Enzo Stojansek at the 60kg. Another Azeri prodigy, Vakil Gurbanov followed the instructions of his ringside well enough to beat Serbia’s Strahinja Filic at the 63kg weight class.
Azerbaijan’s Yusuf Aghakishiyev is one of the most experienced boxers in their U17 squad with European medals and tournament titles on his bag. Aghakishiyev had a crucial but successful mission against Montenegro’s Veselin Dedic to take the gold medal at the 75kg. His teammate, the powerful Mehran Rasulov earned the last gold medal of the entire event after beating Montenegro’s Vasilije Bugarin by split decision.