Kazakhstan, Algeria and Turkey won the female finals at the Great Silk Way Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan where Berfin Kabak had a dominant title contest.
Altogether 29 female and 97 male boxers are participating in the annual Great Silk Way Tournament in the heart of Azerbaijan.
Baku hosted several big events in the recent 20 years, including the Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships in 2011, the Youth World Boxing Championships and the Cadet World Boxing Championships.
The bout of the day
Kazakhstan’s Anel Kudaybergen has big plans for this year after a few poor seasons and she accomplished her goal in the Great Silk Way Tournament. The 25-year-old boxer had a hard battle in the final of the women’s 48kg against her teammate, the Asian U22 Championships silver medallist Akbota Bolat, but her hand was raised after the last bell, winning the hectic contest by 3:2 split decision.
The surprise of the day
Azerbaijan’s Zidan Hunbatov earned plenty of medals and titles during his junior and youth career and he is one of the aces for the future elite events. The 18-year-old boxer was the favourite against the tall Amin Mammadzadeh who moved down to the 55kg after his silver medal at the Bocskai Memorial Tournament. Mammadzadeh had the better strategy in their semi-final and he will now meet for the title, Zalimkhan Suleymanov.
The Round-Up
Algeria’s Fatiha Mansouri eliminated several top opponents during her road to the final of the women’s 51kg weight category but she was still highly motivated to take the title of the Great Silk Way Tournament. The Algerian boxer and her opponent from Kazakhstan, Zhansaya Rakhymberdi, both were exhausted in the last round but Mansouri’s stamina caused a tight difference between them.
Kazakhstan’s Anel Sakysh moved up to the 54kg weight class in this Olympic cycle to get a chance in major competitions as well. The 24-year-old boxer gained the control in the first round of the final against her compatriot, Anzha Sadvakassova and she managed to win most of the rounds to take the title of the Great Silk Way.
Turkey’s Berfin Kabak started her road in the Round of 16 in Baku when she stopped Hungary’s Diana Cifra in the third period of their preliminary bout. The Turkish boxer repeated that performance also in the final of the women’s 65kg and she stopped Australia’s Eve Bryson with punctual and heavy punches.
Azerbaijan’s European U23 Champion Subhan Mamedov used his reach better than Georgia’s Goga Topuria and he controlled all of the three rounds in their 50kg semi-final battle. Mamedov’s final opponent will be his 18-year-old super talented teammate, Bilalkhabashi Nazarov which could be one of the most awaited title bouts.
Azerbaijan’s next young talent, Mahammadali Ashiraliyev performed strongly against Kazakhstan’s Asian U22 Champion Nursultan Altynbek and he joined the final of the 60kg category. After that big scalp, Ashiraliyev will be boxing for the gold medal of the lightweight with the experienced Olympian, Tayfur Aliyev.
Azerbaijan’s Malik Hasanov is another star of the annual Great Silk Way Tournament and Bulgaria’s European U23 silver medallist Viktorio Iliev was also not able to stop him in the semi-final of the 65kg. Hasanov’s final opponent will be Zaur Gahramanov while several boxers from Kazakhstan, Turkey, Australia and Uzbekistan have joined the title contests.