The best 40 women boxers advanced to the semi-finals on the fourth competition competition day at the 77th edition of the Strandja Trophy Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria today. England’s Lauren Mackie, Egypt’s Yomna Ayyad and Brazil’s World Champion Rebeca Santos eliminated superb rivals in these quarter-finals.
The next edition of the European Elite Boxing Championships will also take place in Sofia on September 15-26 in 2026.
The bout of the day
England’s Lauren Mackie achieved a silver medal at the 2022 European Youth Boxing Championships in Sofia and she returned to Bulgaria as an elite boxer. The 21-year-old English had a tight advantage against Ireland’s Olympian Jennifer Lehane after the first round and she had the stamina to beat her strong opponent at the women’s 54kg in one of the best contests of the day.
The surprise of the day
Egypt’s Yomna Ayyad qualified for the Paris Olympics but she is still not enough experienced in the international stage of boxing. The Egyptian had the strong will and fighting spirit in her quarter-final bout against Kazakhstan’s Asian Champion Rimma Volosenko and her hard job resulted a surprise victory for Ayyad.
The Round-Up
Germany’s Maxi Kloetzer eliminated two top rivals including Ireland’s Daina Moorehouse in the previous stages at the Strandja Trophy. The Paris Olympian met Uzbekistan’s multiple Asian Champion in various age groups, Feruza Kazakova which was a top bout at the women’s 51kg today. The German tried to repeat the same strategy as in the previous rounds but Kazakova was slightly better in the exchanges today.
Armenia’s Anush Grigoryan has more than 10 years of routine in the international elite events but she is still in full focus to reach top results. The Armenian found back to her best shape in this event and she had the technician performance to beat Serbia’s Tokyo Olympian Nina Radovanovic at the 51kg.
Ireland sent the best female team to the Strandja Trophy and their Caitlin Fryers proved its strong progress in this event. Fryers met Bulgaria’s Venelina Poptoleva in the quarter-finals of the women’s 51kg and despite her height disadvantage the Irish girl controlled the bout. Fryers was quick, fresh and she had the strong game plan to win their meeting today which means that she is also a medallist in the Bulgarian capital.
Bulgaria’s best female boxer, Zlatislava Chukanova progressed a lot in the recent two years and she opened the first round with solid performance against Ukraine’s Alona Unkovska. The experienced Bulgarian had the advantage in terms of routine, technical skills and strength therefore she managed her path to the semi-finals at the 51kg.
Following Anel Sakysh’s success, Elina Bazarova, another Kazakh female boxer shined in the women’s 54kg weight category. The former Youth World Champion was not enough shape in the first round against Turkey’s Aysen Taskin but she switched into a higher tempo in time to turn back their quarter-final bout.
Ukraine’s Elvin Aliyev started the year with a gold medal at the Boxam Elite Tournament in La Nucia and he arrived also to the Strandja to repeat that performance. The powerful Ukrainian controlled the first and dominated the second and third rounds against Turkey’s Mustafa Colak at the 65kg.
Uzbekistan’s Asian U22 Champion Abdullokh Madaminov will turn only 21 this year but he is already one of the stars at the 65kg. The young Uzbek did not land enough punches in the first round against Ireland’s Olympian Dean Clancy but he changed into a different tempo in time to beat his rival by unanimous decision.
Brazil’s brilliant Yuri Falcao Dos Reis was a silver medallist at the 2025 World Boxing Championships and he bowed out his second opponent out of his way at the Strandja Trophy as well. The Brazilian was a genius in the ring against Kazakhstan’s Ilya Kalinin in their 65kg preliminary bout and he advanced to the quarter-finals.
England’s Patrick Hewitt joined the national team only less than two years ago but he had already important triumphs in the international tournaments. The English boxer used his height advantage well against Austria’s Emin Yildiz and he had the massive advantage on the judges’ scorecards. The Austrian returned to this 70kg contest in the second but Hewitt’s final round was enough to secure the victory in this hectic preliminary.
Uzbekistan’s Shavkatjon Boltayev started his career with an Asian Schoolboy title in 2019 and he needed a few years of hard work to reach their elite squad. He represented Uzbekistan at the recent World Boxing Championships in Liverpool but he had to do his very best to beat Brazil’s newcomer Thauan Jociel Silva by split decision.
Germany has strong options at the men’s 70kg weight class and their Randy Botikali marched into the last eight in Sofia. The German was not enough punctual in the first round against Ukraine’s quick Mark Lomakin but he worked better in the second. Botikali’s pressure in the final round paid off and the German won their Round of 16 bout by 4:1 split decision.
Germany’s next boxer in the 70kg, Magomed Schachidov, the Paris Olympian, gained the control against Mongolia’s Byamba-Erdene Otgonbaatar immediately in the first round. The veteran German was smarter than the Mongolian fighter today and he also secured his place in the last eight as Randy Botikali.
Farukh Tokhtassunov is not the most famous Kazakh boxer at the 70kg where his teammate, the 19-year-old star, Torekhan Sabyrkhan is the reigning World Champion. Tokhtassunov exceeded his previous level of boxing and he had a strong advantage against Turkmenistan’s Bayramdurdy Nurmuhammedov after two rounds. The Asian Games bronze medallist Nurmuhammedov is their nation’s No.1, but Tokhtassunov was better today and he looked fresh.
Kazakhstan’s Ulzhan Sarsenbek was dominant as a youth boxer and she competed in one of the Olympic Qualifiers in 2024 at the age of 18. She progressed well in technical skills but United States’ Alyssa Mendoza was too experienced for her while Ireland’s Niamh Fay won a very hectic quarter-final over Uzbekistan’s Khumorabonu Mamajonova in this 57kg.
Ireland’s next boxer at the women’s 57kg, Michaela Walsh controlled all of the three rounds against Brazil’s Jessica Coutinho and she earned the next medal for their nation. Uzbekistan’s Nigina Uktamova subdued Ukraine’s Karina Vovk and the referee stopped their unequal contest in the second round.
Brazil’s Rebeca Santos defeated Kazakhstan’s Viktoriya Grafeyeva in the semi-finals of the recent World Boxing Championships and she repeated that performance in a top bout. Mongolia’s Namuun Monkhor eliminated Uzbekistan’s former Asian Champion Sitora Turdibekova in another superb quarter-final at the 60kg.