Kyrgyzstan’s Zafarbek Kamilov and Australia’s Raphael Barone both amazed at the 34th edition of the Ahmet Comert Bosphorus International Boxing Tournament in Istanbul on Day4.
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
Nihat Adiyan, the Turkish southpaw, had an exceptional footwork in the first round against a top Kyrgyz boxer, the Asian Youth silver medallist Zafarbek Kamilov at the 55kg. The Turkish boxer exceeded the expectations in the second round but Kamilov also increased his tempo in time to remain his winning chance alive. The Turkish boxer was running out of fuel in the third round and the Kyrgyz looked more punctual in the last exchanges which were decisive between them. The 20-year-old Kamilov joined the finals of this strong weight category and he will now meet for the gold medal Semih Gumus of Turkey.
The surprise of the day
Australia’s Raphael Barone, the silver medallist from their recent National Selection Tournament, and Turkey’s Ugur Aydemir had the similar physical skills and conditions therefore the first and second rounds were so equal between them. The new Australian super heavyweight boxer delighted the experts with his performance in the third round and he eliminated a more experienced pugilist.
The Round-up
Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers had strong results among the junior and youth boxing tournaments in the past and she decided to return to the world of boxing. The Irish girl met Australia’s Madeleine Bowen in the quarter-finals of the women’s 51kg and her punched were decisive in the third round when the referee stopped the bout.
The next Australian boxer in this weight class, Leah Anderton is an even younger talent who competed at the U19 World Boxing Championships in 2024. Anderton underlined in the first round against Selcan Oksuzoglu of Turkey that she is the better boxer and her dominance was even stronger in the second. The local girl was not able to repeat to that rhythm and Anderton won their quarter-final bout at the 51kg by large margin of difference.
Serbia’s World Youth bronze medallist Nikolina Dzida had a strong Turkish opponent in the quarter-finals of the women’s 51kg, Eda Nur Kilicci. The Serbian had the fighting spirit and the youthful enthusiasm in this contest but Kilicci worked hard in all the three rounds to win this contest on home soil.
Georgia sent a team also to the Ahmet Comert Tournament and their new super heavyweight boxer, Beka Tserediani looked two-size bigger than Turkey’s Veysel Turan. The powerful Georgian is not experienced in the international yet but he was dominant in this quarter-final bout which finished in the second round.
Ukraine’s Paris Olympian and European U22 Champion Dmytro Lovchinskyi had a tough opponent as first in Istanbul, Germany’s Younes Ouachou at the +90kg. The opening round delivered almost equal number of punches on both sides but the more experienced Ukrainian stepped into the gas in the second. The younger Ouachou was competitive today but his routine is not enough yet to beat such strong boxers as Lovchinskyi.
Turkey’s Berfin Polat and Ukraine’s Veronika Korets had an exciting quarter-final battle at the women’s 60kg weight class today. Polat achieved a bronze medal at the recent European U23 Boxing Championships in Budapest and she found the best fighting distance earlier than her Ukrainian opponent. Korets made a great finish in the third round but her efforts were not enough to turn back this quarter-final bout.
Uzbekistan’s Sitora Turdibekova achieved a gold medal at the 2021 Asian Elite Boxing Championships at the age of 19 and he moved up to the 60kg in this Olympic cycle. The Paris Olympian performed strongly in the second and third rounds to beat Turkey’s Evin Erginoguz in their quarter-final.
Jasmine Poole trained in England in the recent years and the Ahmet Comert Tournament is a new challenge for the talented Aussie boxer. She faced Germany’s Ayssa Lopez Martinez in the quarter-finals of the women’s 60kg weight category and the first round was better for the Australian. Poole’s best period was the third against the tiring German boxer and she managed her path to the semi-finals in Istanbul.
Uzbekistan’s Sobirakhon Shakhobiddinova was unstoppable during her junior and youth ages and she earned several Asian titles in the recent years. The 19-year-old Uzbek is now a promising elite boxer and she used her footwork effectively against Kazakhstan’s Assel Toktassyn therefore Shakhobiddinova became the first finalist in Istanbul where she will now meet Ukraine’s Polina Chernenko for the title of the women’s +80kg.
Sayat Ilyasov competed for Uzbekistan in several top events and the current Asian U23 Champion decided to move to Kazakhstan in the previous months. Ilyasov had to face one of the best Kyrgyz boxers of our present days, Omar Livaza but he knew his opponent’s weak points. Ilyasov accomplished his minimum goal reaching the final of the 65kg and his last opponent will be Ilkhomjon Ergashev of Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan’s Assem Tanatar and Serbia’s Anastasija Boskovic had a similar first round in their important 65kg quarter-final bout. The Serbian had the tight advantage on the scorecards but the Kazakh was able to win the entire contest due to a great second round. Another young hopeful in this weight class, Turkey’s Yonca Gul Yilmaz had an easier triumph over Georgia’s Lorena Surmanidze as next.