Georgia’s Emil Ismailovi and Russia’s Islam Magomedov won excellent contests at the European U19 Boxing Championships Loznica, Serbia in the evening session while England’s Rueben Huczmann delivered the first KO of the event.
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
Georgia’s Emil Ismailovi achieved a bronze medal at the World Boxing U19 Future Cup and he arrived to Loznica as one of the favourites of the men’s 55kg. The 17-year-old Georgian was not able to maintain the best fighting distance in the first round against Belarus’ Zakhar Vialenka but he stepped into the gas from the second. Ismailovi used his longer hands better from the second round and he won this important preliminary bout unanimously.
The surprise of the day
Russia’s Islam Magomedov and Bulgaria’s Yanko Iliev both are stars of the men’s 55kg weight category but due to the draw, the two athletes had to meet already in the Round of 32. The Russian had a tight 3:2 advantage on the judges’ scorecards after three minutes of fight but the Bulgarian also tried to switch into a higher tempo from the second. Magomedov adopted all of the tactical changes of the Bulgarian side and he joined the last 16 after beating one of the gold medal favourites.
The Round-Up
The evening session has just started but England’s Rueben Huczmann shocked his opponent from Finland, Mike Parhiala with lethal punches. The English 55kg boy spent only one minute in the ring when the referee stopped their unequal contest and confirmed Huczmann’s KO victory after that heavy shot.
The Czechs proved strong development in comparison to the last Olympic cycle and their boxers are all well-prepared physically. Their Dorian Kropog was expected a hard battle against Bosnia & Herzegovina’s experienced Aleksandar Veljovic but he made a quick decision, same as Huczmann in the opening contest of the evening session. Kropog’s body shot was hurt, the Bosnian athlete was on his knee, and the referee confirmed his RSC triumph in the first round.
Romania’s Denis Aurel Alexandrescu, the European U17 silver medallist, had a tough opening round against Sweden’s aggressive Ali Zaheer Changazi. The Swedish boxer tried to put the Romanian under pressure, but Alexandrescu had the great footwork to avoid most of the attacks from Changazi’s side. The Romanian looked more confident from the second round, his strategy worked better therefore it was no doubt, Alexandrescu advanced to the last 16 at the men’s 55kg.
Spain’s Manuel Bueno Jodar was a quarter-finalist at the World Boxing U19 Future Cup and the 17-year-old won the strong Akaki Kakauridze U19 Tournament this May. The Spaniard dictated the tempo against Hungary’s former World Junior bronze medallist Dominik Gombai and he attacked from the first seconds. Bueno was a hard target for the Hungarian and his brilliant style of boxing guaranteed his clear success in the Round of 32 today.
Serbia’s Filip Stanojevic was named among the medal contenders at the men’s 55kg weight category and the local boy gave in everything already in the first round to underline that he is technically better than Greece’s Dimosthenis Zikos. The Serbian had better defensive skills and his counter-punches worked well also in all of the three rounds to won this preliminary bout by large margin of difference.
The Bologna-based Tommaso Orlando earned a silver medal in the last edition of the European U19 Boxing Championships and he used his outstanding footwork to keep Moldova’s Chirill Slepoi on long in their Round of 32 battle. The 18-year-old Italian had the full control on this preliminary bout from the first seconds until the very last one and he enjoyed the third round which was a clear dominance.
Lithuania’s Matas Naumcev switched his stance several times during his bout against Moldova’s Nichita Lisii but his opponent caught him with a heavy punch in the first round. The Danas Pozniakas winner Naumcev landed several single jabs in their meeting and he was able to turn back a close 75kg fight today. His teammate, Kornelijus Kerpe also succeeded in the evening session and he joined the last 16 at the 55kg.
Bulgaria’s Lah Nimani Tournament winner Dzhan Fikret, Azerbaijan’s Adil Zalov, Ukraine’s Konstantyn Halytskyi, and Russia’s Kirill Shankar also won their preliminary bouts at the 75kg. Ireland’s Jason Whelan had a hard-working triumph over Slovakia’s Bornemissza Memorial Tournament winner Tomas Kupcik, which was a small surprise in the last bout of the evening session.