Ireland’s Adam Hession, Ukraine’s Daria-Olha Hutarina, Germany’s Randy Botikali and Australia’s Toby Reading were among the heroes at the 34th edition of the Ahmet Comert Bosphorus International Boxing Tournament in Istanbul on Day2.
Such great boxing nations as Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan are competing at the Ahmet Comert with strong boxers.
The city of Istanbul will be the host of the next edition of the European Games on June 16-27 in 2027.
The bout of the day
Ireland’s Adam Hession was member of their national team at the 2025 World Boxing Championships and the 2024 European Boxing Championships as well. The experienced Irish had some issues with the distance in the first round but he stepped into the gas in time to beat Turkey’s Sezgin Acar at the men’s 60kg.
The surprise of the day
Turkey’s Pinar Benek achieved a silver medal at the 2024 Youth World Boxing Championships and she was named as one of the favourites in Istanbul. The youngster was not enough fresh in the first round against Ukraine’s Daria-Olha Hutarina and she could not repeat her previous level of footwork. The Ukrainian caught her from all of the ranges and she won not only the first round but the entire bout at the women’s 57kg.
The Round-up
Turkey’s Emine Kilinc is a promising local boxer at the women’s 51kg but she gained the control in her opener against Ukraine’s Yaroslava Marynchuk in the first round. The Ukrainian was competitive and found the distance only in the third round therefore Kilinc managed to win their meeting by 4:1 split decision today.
Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers and Uzbekistan’s Mukhlisa Khushvaktova both are trying to impress their head coaches and reach the top teams in their homelands. The Irish girl found her rhythm earlier than the younger Uzbek and the first and second rounds were decisive on their women’s 51kg bout.
Uzbekistan’s Kakhramonjon Fozilov was smaller than Turkey’s Cem Kaya but he used his aggressive style of boxing to catch his opponent with heavy shots. The local hopeful equalized his disadvantage in most of the scorecards in the second round but Fozilov had the motivation and the stamina to decide their 70kg bout in the third.
Germany’s Randy Botikali has just joined the national team only in 2025 but he delivered some unexpected victories despite his low number of international bouts. The German dominated the first round against Serbia’s Dzejlan Toskic and he had the 10:8 advantage on the judges’ scorecards after three minutes. The taller Botikali shocked the Serbian with multiple punches in the end of the second round and the referee stopped their 70kg contest.
Uzbekistan’s Uzukjamol Yunusova competed in the level of the Asian Championships as a junior and a youth boxer with titles and medals between 2021 and 2024. The 19-year-old Uzbek maintained the best fighting distance in the first round against Turkey’s Hatice Kubra Gocer and she was still able to increase her rhythm in the second. Yunusova continued the same tempo in the third round therefore she won this 54kg quarter-final bout with confidence.
Moldova’s Iulia Coroli represented her nation in almost all levels of boxing excluding the Olympic Games and after a break, she decided to return to the sport. Her opponent, Kazakhstan’s Gulnar Turapbay received a warning in the first round and she did not find the rhythm in this 54kg bout. The Kazakh ringside abandoned the contest after two minutes and ten seconds and the Moldovan made a great comeback with a guaranteed medal.
Ireland’s Nicole Clyde looked one size bigger than Germany’s Tatiana Obermeier in the next quarter-final at the women’s 54kg. The German was energetic in the first round but Clyde found the best weapons against her from the second, and Clyde joined the medal phase of this weight class. The fourth medallist in this category became Ukraine’s Inna Statkevych who eliminated Kazakhstan’s Tomiris Myrzakul.
Serbia’s Relja Stojkovic has injured in the first exchanges therefore Australia’s experienced Marlon Sevehon advanced to the next stage at the men’s 80kg. Turkey’s Emre Parlak felt the support of the home crowd and he was able to keep the control against Kyrgyzstan’s 20-year-old Atay Asanbekov in all of the three rounds.
Australia’s Holly Perdikaris made her international debut at the recent Montenegro Elite Cup in Budva and she was selected to participate also in Istanbul. The Aussie boxer looked stronger in the exchanges than Kazakhstan’s Zhumakhan Korkem in the first round and she finished their 57kg bout in the second with a stoppage.
Germany’s Denis Bril almost qualified for the Paris Olympics through the last chance event when he was only 20-year-old. Bril moved up to the 60kg last year and his technical skills resulted a clear advantage on the scorecards against Turkey’s Selahattin Cinibulak. Germany’s top talent had an emerging performance in all of the three rounds to win his opening bout at the Ahmet Comert.
Kyrgyzstan’s Paris Olympics silver medallist Munarbek Seyitbek Uulu started his campaign in Istanbul well enough against a good Uzbek rival on Day1 and he used the same style of boxing as next when he faced Australia’s Darcy O’Malley. The Kyrgyz lightweight boxer was patient, waited for the best angles to win the contest but the Aussie youngster proved also his future potential in their meeting.
Serbia arrived to the competition with a fantastic female team and their Jelena Zekic continued the winning path after the Montenegro Elite Cup. The Serbian had to meet Georgia’s newcomer in the elite national team, Khuraman Kasumova and she was too strong for her opponent today.
Following the success of two local boxers such as Vedat Kacar and Berke Sadettin Sahip, Australia’s Toby Reading delivered the next top performance of the session. The 75kg boxer from Down Under used his physical advantage over Turkey’s Sitki Isik and he joined the last four in this weight class.