Bulgaria’s No.1, Radoslav Rosenov remained on the top of the podium and he won a tactical final in the last competition day at the 77th edition of the Strandja Trophy Tournament in Sofia.
The bout of the day
Bulgaria’s eight-times European Champion Radoslav Rosenov and Brazil’s World silver medallist Luiz Gabriel Oliveira have the same counter-attacking style of boxing. The Brazilian moved forward more in this 60kg final bout in comparison to his previous contests in Sofia but Rosenov had the brilliant footwork to avoid his attacks. Both had amazing defensive skills in this 60kg final bout and the host nation’s pride won this tactical game today.
The surprise of the day
United States’ Lorenzo Patricio eliminated his Mongolian opponent in the last four, which was one of the best contests in the semi-finals. The US teenager moved forward before landing his counter-attacks to score against Ukraine’s Maksym Zymenko in the final of the men’s 55kg. The Ukrainian had also the brilliant footwork in this contest to take the gold medal of the Strandja Trophy Tournament.
The Round-Up
Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota, the 2018 World silver medallist, returned to the national team in the recent months, and she advanced to the final of the women’s 48kg weight class in Sofia. The Ukrainian had a smaller opponent, Uzbekistan’s Olympian Sabina Bobokulova and she made a strong comeback in this event. Okhota was one time counted in their final bout and Bobokulova secured the first title at the Strandja this year, winning the battle of the southpaw boxers.
Ireland’s Commonwealth Games winner Michaela Walsh is one of the veterans at the women’s 57kg but she is still fast, motivated and strong to reach top results. The Irish tried to keep the distance against Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova and used her longer reach in all of the three rounds. The 10-years-younger Uzbek landed multiple combinations in the second round and her excellent rhythm delivered the second success for her nation in Sofia.
Brazil’s defending World Champion Rebeca Santos and Kosovo’s historic World medallist Donjeta Sadiku marched to the final of the women’s 60kg. Both boxers were patient in the exchanges during the first round and it was a big chess game between them to find the best angles. The smaller Brazilian was not nervous and she continued the same game play in the second round but she did not land enough punches therefore Sadiku made a surprise.
England’s Chantelle Reid and Brazil’s Viviane Pereira both amazed in the previous rounds of the Strandja Trophy Tournament. Reid, who returned to the sport after a break, reached several impressive results last year, and she looked highly confident against the South American. The English coaches built up excellent tactics and Reid followed that from the first seconds until the last moments.
Australia’s Emma-Sue Greentree claimed a bronze medal at the 2023 Women’s World Boxing Championships and she decided to move down to the 75kg weight class. The Aussie girl eliminated Kazakhstan’s former World Champion Valentina Khalzova in the semi-finals and she repeated the same level against Uzbekistan’s Aziza Zokirova. Greentree landed nice shots but Zokirova progressed a lot in the recent one year and the Uzbek celebrated the gold medal today.
Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Ryabets also returned to the boxing world as Valentina Khalzova and the Tokyo Olympian moved up to the 80kg weight class. The 26-year-old Kazakh and her final opponent, Yaren Duztas had similar style of boxing and in that game the more experienced Ryabets was better in all aspects. She bagged Kazakhstan’s second gold medal in the strong Strandja Trophy Tournament and she made a strong comeback to the sport.
Bulgaria’s Zlatislava Chukanova walked over to the title of the women’s 51kg after hear final opponent, Uzbekistan’s Firuza Kazakova was not able to fight against her today.
Azerbaijan’s lone finalist in the Strandja Trophy, Bilalhabasi Nazarov has just joined the elite age group but the European U19 Champion had the strong counter-attacks in the final of the 50kg. Nazarov followed the same rhythm as Kazakhstan’s former Asian silver medallist Daniyal Sabit and both invested a lot of work to win the first male final of the event. The Azeri teenager looked tired in the last round and Sabit had the routine to use this opportunity up to win the final.
Ukraine’s next finalist, Elvin Aliyev had a disadvantage on the judges’ scorecards after three minutes of fight against Brazil’s World silver medallist Yuri Falcao Reis but he turned up the heat in the second round. The Ukrainian, who won the Boxam Tournament in Spain this February, continued his winning path against an amazing opponent today.
Lavant Brownlee was member of the US U19 national team in 2025 and he quickly included to the elite squad this January. The US teenager eliminated more experienced opponents in the previous stages of the Strandja and he used his longer hands to catch Kazakhstan’s Farukh Tokhtassunov. Brownlee is a newcomer among the elite boxers but a fantastic talent and he made a debut with a gold medal in Sofia.
Uzbekistan’s defending World Champion Fazliddin Erkinboyev and Bulgaria’s European Champion Rami Kiwan met in an anticipated final at the men’s 75kg. The Bulgarian tried to work from longer distance but the 20-year-old Uzbek caught him with body shots and jabs in the corner. Erkinboyev had a massive advantage on the scorecards after two rounds and he did not make any risks in the third to earn the gold medal in Sofia.
Uzbekistan’s next reigning World Champion Javokhir Ummataliyev dictated the tempo against Ukraine’s Pavlo Illiusha and he had the advantage after two rounds. The Ukrainian was better and better every minutes and he surprisingly he turned back this 80kg final bout. Uzbekistan’s World Champion Akmaljon Isroilov controlled the exchanges against Matvii Razhba of Ukraine at the 85kg final.
Uzbekistan’s Turabek Khabibullayev is the Asian Champion and the World Champion at the 90kg who landed the better shots than Ukraine’s Bogdan Tolmachov to earn his next title. England’s Damar Thomas had a very difficult semi-final bout at the +90kg but that increased his motivational level to take the title in Sofia. The 21-year-old English met another southpaw, Uzbekistan’s Ozodbek Aliyev but he won all of the three rounds easily today.
The quote of the day
“We spent two weeks intense training camp in the United States before the Strandja Tournament and those efforts simply paid off. The Strandja is a strong event with many good boxers, but I could manage my main goal, to earn the gold medal here,” said England’s 28-year-old Chantelle Reid in the mixed zone after the final bout.