England’s duo, Lauren Mackie and Damar Thomas amazed in the sixth competition day at the 77th edition of the Strandja Trophy Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria and both advanced to the busy finals.
The bout of the day
Germany’s last remaining boxer, European U23 Champion Nikita Putilov is in top shape in this event after his hard preparation. Putilov shocked England’s former European Youth Champion Damar Thomas in the first round with his heavy punches and the referee counted his opponent twice. The 22-year-old German led 10:8 in all of the judging scorecards after one round but the taller English used his distance better in the second. Thomas worked hard in the last round and he made a big U-turn after the first period which means that he will be meeting Uzbekistan’s Ozodbek Aliyev in the final.
The surprise of the day
England’s Lauren Mackie claimed a silver medal at the 2022 edition of the European Youth Championships in Sofia and she returned to the Bulgarian capital as the member of the elite team. She not only advanced to the semi-finals but due to her stamina, she was able to beat United States’ favourite, Yoseline Perez at the 54kg.
The Round-Up
Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota returned to the boxing business this year and she is in top shape after a hard preparation. The former World silver medallist finished the second round with a beautiful hook and she controlled all of the three rounds against Mongolia’s young Enkh-Amgalan Nomundari therefore she earned the first final spot at the Strandja Trophy.
Bulgaria’s Zlatislava Chukanova progressed a lot in the recent two years and she was near to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The Bulgarian moved forward in the first round and she tried to overcome Armenia’s Anush Grigoryan in the attacks. Chukanova knew her experienced Armenian opponent well enough and she worked well enough to beat Grigoryan in a superb semi-final at the women’s 51kg.
Uzbekistan’s Feruza Kazakova is a multiple Asian Champion and one of the most talented women boxers at the 51kg. The 22-year-old Uzbek had longer reach than Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers and she control the first round from her best range. The Irish was not able to reduce the fighting distance effectively and Kazakova won their meeting with a technician performance.
United States’ Alyssa Mendoza and Ireland’s Michaela Walsh both were patient in the first round and they had a tactical opener at the 57kg. The US southpaw turned up the heat in the end of the second round with several tough combinations but the Commonwealth Games winner Irish responded with great counters. The taller Irish worked a lot on feet in the final round and she deserved to win this intense battle in Sofia.
Brazil’s Rebeca Santos, the defending World Champion delivered excellent performance in the previous stages of the Strandja Trophy but she had to keep her full concentration against Mongolia’s Namuun Monkhor in the semi-final of the 60kg. The Brazilian knew the weak points of her Asian opponent and she impressed once again which means that she will meet Kosovo’s Olympian Donjeta Sadiku in the final.
Uzbekistan’s next ace, the two-time Asian Champion Navbakhor Khamidova worked from counter-attacking range despite she was smaller than England’s Sacha Hickey in the semi-finals of the women’s 65kg. The 25-year-old Uzbek had the advantage on the judges’ scorecards after two rounds but the European U23 Champion did not give up this fight. Hickey is a promising boxer in this weight class but Khamidova’s routine was the decisive factor between them today.
Ukraine’s Maksym Zymenko had excellent victories last year and he began the year at the Boxam Tournament in Spain. The Ukrainian southpaw looked active in the first round and he dictated the tempo against Bulgaria’s Yasen Radev in their 55kg semi-final. The 23-year-old Bulgarian had good footwork but Zymenko landed enough jabs and hooks to win this contest in Sofia.
United States’ teenager, Lorenzo Patricio and Mongolia’s Bilguunsaikhan Kharkhuu invested a lot of efforts to their semi-final bout. The super talented US boy used his counter-attacking style of boxing and he was a hard target for the technician Kharkhuu today. The confident Patricio was better in the exchanges and he won one of the best contests of the entire competition day.
Brazil’s World silver medallist Luiz Gabriel Oliveira made the show against Ukraine’s Aider Abduraimov and he managed his pathway to the finals of the men’s 60kg. Bulgaria’s record-breaking European Champion Radoslav Rosenov also has done the job against England’s William Hewitt and he is a finalist in a Strandja Trophy once again. The two stars of the competition will meet each other in one of the most anticipated final contest of the entire event.
Bulgaria’s next flag bearer in the national team, the reigning European Champion Rami Kiwan was better than Romania’s Alexandru Buleu in all ranges. He felt the tempo from the first seconds against his younger opponent and he impressed in all of the three rounds. Kiwan was untouchable for the Romanian today and he secured the next final spot for the host country.
Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Erkinboyev became World Champion at the 75kg weight class at the age of 20 last September and he met another boxer from the 2005 age group, Italy’s Gabriele Guidi Rontani. The Italian was a silver medallist at the recent European U23 Boxing Championships and he tried to use the same style of boxing as Erkinboyev. The Uzbek, who kept the focus until the last seconds, was better in that game play and he advanced to the final once again.
Uzbekistan’s defending World Champion at the 80kg, Javokhir Ummataliyev worked well to beat Ukraine’s Dzhamal Kuliyev in their semi-final meeting. Uzbekistan’s 19-year-old Akmaljon Isroilov was the youngest winner in the 2025 World Boxing Championships half year ago and he looked confident against Ukraine’s Danylo Zhasan at the 85kg semi-final. The Ukrainian was a competitive opponent today but the Uzbek teenager had the strong strategy to beat Zhasan.
Ukraine’s Matvii Razhba faced with one of the new Uzbek talents in the semi-final of the 85kg, Norbek Abdullayev who had a clear pathway to the last four in Sofia. The Uzbek teenager started the bout better but Razhba switched into a higher tempo, and he felt the distance better, additionally his stamina was enough to turn back this semi-final.