Germany’s Yoan Hernandez made a revenge for a previous loss while Latvia achieved its first victory during the sixth session of the European U19 Boxing Championships Loznica, Serbia.
Altogether 354 boxers from 36 nations are participating for the 20 titles and the 80 available medals in the European U19 Boxing Championships.
Boxers who were born in 2008 and in 2009 are eligible to participate in the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica.
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine are the participating nations in Loznica.
The bout of the day
Germany’s next boxer in action was Yoan Hernandez, the silver medallist from the recent Brandenburg U19 Cup. He lost to Poland’s Aleksander Sikora in that final and the two boxers had to meet each other in a re-match in Loznica. Yoan Hernandez has strong family roots to boxing as his father was the Cuban World Champion from the 1990s, Javier Hernandez. The German used different tactics as last time in Frankfurt an der Oder and he succeeded against the strong Polish boxer, starting his road with a revenge at the 90kg.
The surprise of the day
Latvia’s Liepaja-based Markuss Reke had the strong height advantage against Armenia’s Vardan Avetisyan and he tried to keep his opponent on long in the first round. The Latvian enjoyed the first round and he used his strict jabs to build up advantage on the scorecards against a more experienced rival. The Latvian boxer, who began the sport in 2016, landed also the stronger punched and the referee confirmed his RSC victory at the 90kg.
The Round-Up
Ireland’s Ellen Joyce is probably the smallest boxer in the women’s 48kg weight class but she worked from longer distance against Ukraine’s Anastasia Tiurina and she trusted on her speedy actions. The little Irish girl used her own strategy against the tall Ukrainian and she had several nice jabs in the first and second rounds. She was even better in the third round and her stamina decided their preliminary bout at the women’s 48kg weight category.
Azerbaijan’s Banuchichak Nasirli earned a silver medal at the 2025 edition of the European U19 Boxing Championships and she moved back to her best category, the 48kg. The 18-year-old boxer faced Greece’s Angeliki Petroula Sdouga and she turned up the heat in the second round when the referee counted her opponent. Nasirli felt that she is better today in all aspects of boxing and she won their preliminary bout by RSC in the third round.
Germany’s Charlotte Kienel was a quarter-finalist at the World Boxing U19 Future Cup and the 17-year-old is a medal contender also in Loznica. The German overcame Czech Republic’s Katerina Marynets in the attacks and she landed her jabs with perfect timing in their Round of 32 bout at the 57kg. Kienel shared her energies well enough throughout the three rounds and she saved some fuels for the later actions as well.
Serbia’s Vuk Milenkovic claimed a silver medal in the Golden Gloves of Vojvodina Tournament this June and he had the experience to gain the control against Sweden’s Moses Bazzi in the first minute. The Serbian used his height advantage as the best weapon against the Swedish athlete and he had the advantage on the judges’ scorecards after three minutes. Milenkovic had the technical skills and the routine to win this Round of 16 contest in the men’s 90kg weight class, making the crowd happy.
The Padova-based Alessio Ballarin delivered Italy’s next success in Loznica, the youngster had the heart and the stamina to beat Azerbaijan’s Zaur Samadov at the 90kg weight category. England’s Albe Dowell is a newcomer in the U19 squad but he had the enthusiasm to beat his Belarusian opponent, Ilya Nahorny and his strength was also decision making between them today.
Germany’s Ahmed Abdulgamidov, the Brandenburg U19 Tournament winner, controlled all of the three rounds against Azerbaijan’s Safdar Mammadzada and he won their impressive contest at the +90kg. The German marched to the last eight of the European U19 Boxing Championships and he needs only one further step to get a medal.
Romania’s ace in the U19 national team, Denis Cristian Cucu is also a gold medal contender in the +90kg weight category. The former European medallist was also highly confident against Lithuania’s Danielius Steponavicius in the first round and he knocked out his rival in the second with a perfect punch.
England’s Jonathan Edwards won their U19 National Championships this year and he received the right to compete in the Europeans. Edwards has athletic skills, and he had also the speed to catch Croatia’s Tomislav Japirko with his jabs in the first round. Edwards won the first round by 4:1 on the scorecards but the Croatian also stepped into the gas in the second, landing some heavy shots.
Russia’s Ivan Baibakov had a difficult moment against Armenia’s Aram Tumanyan but that increased his motivation to turn back their +90kg bout. Turkey’s super heavyweight hope, Hakan Deniz Coskun was too strong for Greece’s Ilias Papadeas and he underlined already in the first round that he is better today.