Ireland, Russia, Germany, Serbia and Ukraine shared the remaining titles at the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica today evening.
Altogether 354 boxers from 36 nations participated for the 20 titles and the 80 available medals in the European U19 Boxing Championships. Boxers who were born in 2008 and in 2009 were 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 were the participating nations in Loznica.
The next European Boxing Championships will be held for the elites in Sofia, Bulgaria on September 15-26.
The bout of the session
Germany’s lone finalist in the competition, Justin Kiz made a wonderful performance in the semi-finals and he tried to use similar strategy to beat Russia’s Kirill Shinkar at the men’s 75kg weight category. Both boxers organised their defences well in the first round which delivered a close Russian advantage on the judges’ scorecards. Shinkar moved more on feet in the second round but the final result was depended on their performance in the last three minutes. The referee declared Kiz as the winner of this amazing final due to the brilliant technical performance of the German boxer in the last round.
The surprise of the session
Serbia’s second female finalist in the championships, Sonja Vuksic met also a Russian girl for the title in Loznica, Daria Antipova. The local boxer had a height disadvantage but she tried to be smart in the first round and her patient strategy worked well. The Serbian 75kg boxer moved a lot on feet in the second and she landed enough left-handed hooks to take the lead on the scorecards. Vuksic countered the Russian perfectly in the second and third rounds and she worked until her last drop of fuel to win this final despite Antipova’s efforts in the last 20 seconds.
The Round-Up
Georgia’s Akaki Basaria and Ireland’s John Maher both had tough road to the finals of the men’s 70kg weight category after beating potential gold medal contenders. The Georgian claimed the title in the 2025 edition of the European U19 Boxing Championships in Ostrava and he planned to repeat that in Loznica as well. The motivated Irish looked fully concentrated in the first round and his speedy attacks controlled the opening three minutes between them. The 18-year-old Georgian southpaw made more risks in the second round and the Ukrainian referee counted him after Maher’s actions. The Irish felt that Basaria is in trouble and he finished the final with heavy punches which meant he defeated the titleholder of the championships.
Serbia’s Jovana Devetakovic exceeded all of the expectations with her place in the final and she fought bravely against Russia’s top favourite, the former European Junior Champion Anastasia Golunova at the women’s 57kg final. The Serbian, who claimed a silver at the Golden Gloves of Vojvodina Tournament this June, landed more body and head punches in the second round therefore Golunova had to show her very best in this final bout. Devetakovic had a strong attempt to surprise the Russian No.1 but Golunova used up all of her routine to win their exciting title contest.
Italy’s Tiberio Nocadello and Russia’s Prokhor Startsev both eliminated several of the top contenders during their roads to the final of the men’s 80kg. The Italian received several jabs from the experienced Russian in the first round therefore Startsev started to build up the advantages on the scorecards. Nocadello landed more punches in the second round and he found the way between the Russian gloves to the target area but Startsev had still a massive advantage. The Italian gave in everything, he landed several good punches, made the final closer but the Russian’s hand rose after the last bell.
Russia’s Ivan Baibakov eliminated one of his main rivals Romania’s Denis Cucu in the quarter-finals and he could expect another hard fight against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Khomenko at the +90kg. The Ukrainian southpaw tried to work in higher frequency than in the previous rounds in Loznica and he had a well-deserved advantage after three minutes. Khomenko had the youthful enthusiasm in this contest and he secured a gold medal for Ukraine in the heaviest weight category.