Serbia’s Nikolina Gajic, Bulgaria’s Viktorio Iliev, Montenegro’s Milos Roganovic and Romania’s Jorge Luis Mayeta won the hardest semi-final battles at the 63rd Belgrade Winner Tournament in Obrenovac on Day3.
The Belgrade Winner Tournament is one of the oldest international competitions in the entire world, next to the Strandja Memorial, the Bocskai Memorial, the Golden Gloves and the Bornemissza Tournament.
The bout of the day
Bulgaria’s European U23 silver medallist Viktorio Iliev found the tiny holes between the gloves of his opponent, Serbia’s Dmitriy Gorbenko in the first round of their 65kg semi-final. The Bulgarian controlled the opening minutes but Gorbenko also increased his tempo after the break and their bout became one of the top ones on Day3. Iliev is a member from the 2006 born age group, a youngster among the elites but he had the world-class footwork in the third round to win this contest. Iliev’s final opponent will be Armenia’s Andranik Martirosyan who had a close success over Hungary’s Milan Petriman.
The surprise of the day
Armenia’s Rafayel Hovhannisyan, the European medallist, dictated the tempo against Romania’s ex-Cuban Jorge Luis Mayeta and his continuous pressure made the bout to a real fight. The Romanian boxer found his best tempo in the second round and with a great finish, he could win their semi-final bout at the 85kg. Mayeta’s final opponent will be Ukraine’s Danylo Zhasan who won a manly battle against Kazakhstan’s Ayan Kalmaganbetov.
The Round-Up
Hungary’s Lilla Szeleczki used her own strategy to take the control against Greece’s Athina Avramidou and she had the advantage on the judges’ scorecards after three minutes. The Hungarian knocked down her Greek opponent in the second round and she finished the bout with a stoppage in the third. Szeleczki will now meet for the title of the women’s 48kg Turkey’s Nurselen Yalgettekin which will be the repeat final of the last edition of the European U23 Boxing Championships.
Bulgaria’s Zlatislava Chukanova is their best female boxer in the national team who progressed a lot in the previous two years. She has the full focus on the Los Angeles Olympics on long term and she competes in several events to increase her international experience. The Bulgarian overcame Canada’s Amber Wall in the attacks and she was able to use her best rhythm to eliminate the North American opponent. Chukanova’s final opponent at the 51kg will be Serbia’s Tokyo Olympian Nina Radovanovic who had a tight success over Hungary’s Laura Horvath.
Turkey’s Nilay Yaren Cam looked fresh and energetic in the first round against Spain’s Claudia Alcaniz who started the semi-final of the 54kg nervously. The 19-year-old Spaniard did not find the distance and the referee counted her two-times in the opening round. The Spanish coaches decided abandon the semi-final which means that Cam will be able to meet for the title South Korea’s Paris Olympics bronze medallist Im Ae Ji.
Philippines’ veteran Riza Pasuit moved down to the 57kg and the Thailand Open Boxing Tournament winner won her next contest in the Belgrade Winner. The 33-year-old boxer had a strong performance against Greece’s Areti Stergiou in the semi-final and she can prepare the final against Turkey’s Ece Asude Ediz who eliminated Greece’s young Panagiota Kouzilou with confidence.
Serbia’s European Games silver medallist Natalia Shadrina is another veteran in our sport who is still hungry for the successes in this new Olympic cycle. The ex-Russian boxer was patient in the exchanges and she overcame Turkey’s Evin Erginoguz with strict left-handed hooks. Shadrina followed the instructions of her coaches well enough to join the final of the women’s 60kg where she will now Italy’s Irma Testa which is one of the most anticipated title contests in Belgrade.
Turkey’s Berfin Kabak had a fantastic performance at the Great Silk Way Tournament in Azerbaijan five weeks ago where she stopped most of her opponents and she claimed the title. The Turkish had a tactical first round against Serbia’s Anastasija Boskovic but she stepped into the gas in the second when she caught the local opponent. Kabak performed well in the third round and after her success, she will now meet Serbia’s Anastasija Lukajic for the gold medal of the 65kg.
South Korea’s Asian medallist Seon Su Jin and Serbia’s World bronze finisher Nikolina Gajic met in an exciting semi-final at the women’s 70kg. The South Korean moved forward and she tried to reduce the fighting distance against the taller opponent. Seon’s pressure was not enough to beat Gajic today therefore her opponent will now face with another Serbian boxer, Milena Matovic for the title.
Turkey’s Youth World Champion Havvanur Kethuda shocked Serbia’s Natalija Simic with her heavy attacks and she decided this +80kg semi-final bout within less than one minute. The 19-year-old Turkish boxer will now meet another Serbian for the title, Sara Miljkovic, who eliminated Hungary’s European U23 Champion Zsofia Szira in a tight bout.
Cuba’s Deibys Abreu was one size bigger than Serbia’s Artur Nagapetian and he tried to keep his opponent on long in the first round. Nagapetian and Abreu both invested all of their energies to The Cuban made strong efforts in the first and second rounds but he received a warning from the referee and Nagapetian’s finish was strong enough to win this crucial semi-final at the 55kg.
Kazakhstan’s Nurassyl Tulebek was Junior World Champion in 2023 and the 19-year-old boxer spends his first year among the elites. The Kazakh teenager put on several kilograms of muscles to his body in the recent one year and he dictated the strict tempo against Armenia’s Erik Arstamyan. Tulebek was more punctual in the decisive third round and he became the first finalist from Kazakhstan at the Belgrade Winner.
Montenegro’s Vllaznia Memorial Tournament winner Milos Roganovic and Serbia’s Filip Dzida both are U23 boxers and they had strong development since the last season. The 20-year-old Roganovic landed the stronger punches while the Serbian had the virtuoso style of boxing in this next spectacular bout. Their semi-final was a good promotion of boxing and the Niksic-based Roganovic became the winner and he can expect another hard battle against Kazakhstan’s Nurbek Mursal.
Serbia’s defending European Champion Jovan Nikolic had a strong semi-final opponent at the men’s 75kg, Armenia’s Marat Mikaelyan and he tried to be smarter than the Caucasian in the first round. Nikolic attacked more in the second round and his body shots were uncomfortable for the Armenian and he managed to win that semi-final.
Ukraine’s Olympic Games winner and World Champion Oleksandr Khyzhniak caught Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Shilderbay with heavy punches but his opponent also adopted the high rhythm of this semi-final. The 31-year-old Ukrainian star increased the tempo in the second round and after the standing counts, Khyzhniak’s RSC success was confirmed by the Serbian referee.