An Asian Schoolboys silver medallist, Muhammadali Istamov switched to Azerbaijan this year and he opened his campaign for his new nation with a gold medal at the Heydar Aliyev U17 Cup which finished in the Baku Boxing Center.
Altogether 41 women and 144 men boxers competed for the 23 available titles during the Heydar Aliyev U17 Cup.
Boxers from the 2010 and 2011 age groups were eligible to participate in the Heydar Aliyev Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan which is another traditional event and it was named after Mr. Heydar Aliyev who served Azerbaijan as President of the State between 1993 until his death in 2003.
The Heydar Aliyev Cup was a preparation event for the European U17 Boxing Championships which will be held in Budva, Montenegro on October 1-11.
The bout of the day
Muhammadali Istamov represented Uzbekistan in the recent international events and he earned several titles and medals during his U15 age. Istamov is a big talent and he decided to continue his career in Azerbaijan where he put himself into the spotlight with a gold medal at the Heydar Aliyev U17 Tournament. The ex-Uzbek boxer had a tight advantage on the judges’ scorecards against Ali Jamalzadeh after the first round but his opponent returned to the business in the second with better combinations. Istamov increased his rhythm in the third and his technical skills decided the best and the closest finals of the tournament.
The surprise of the day
Gardash Rakhimov was named as the favourite of the 52kg weight category before the start of the competition but finally he achieved only a silver medal in Baku. Azerbaijan’s successful boxer in the recent international competition was not enough shape to beat his teammate, Ismayil Nasirzadeh in the final contest.
The Round-Up
The first male title of the Heydar Aliyev U17 Tournament was achieved by Aydin Shakhbazov, a local boy, who had a clean success over Ilhan Mamiyev at the smallest 44kg. Hasrat Mammadov was energetic in the full competition and he had the speed advantage to beat another Azeri boxer, Sarkhan Aghazadeh at the 46kg final.
The 48kg is always a strong category in Azerbaijan, they have the tradition on that and their Nihad Mammadli advanced to the final. His opponent from Uzbekistan, Suvonbek Yuldoshev found the best fighting range in the first round earlier than Mammadli and he took the lead on the scorecards. The local boxer worked harder in the last round but Yuldoshev had the comfortable advantage to win the first title for Uzbekistan.
Azerbaijan’s Rustam Nasibov had an impressive start against his teammate, Vagif Mammadli in the first round of the 50kg final. After his amazing opener, almost all of the judges favoured him 10:8 due to the standing counts which showed the large margin between them after two minutes of fight. Mammadli made a superb comeback in the second round but Nasibov mobilized his last drop of energies well enough in the third to win their final.
The bantamweight (54kg) was the strongest division in this Heydar Aliyev U17 Tournament and champions of major events failed to reach the final in Baku. Two of the Uzbeks such as Iskandar Kadamboyev and Mirfayiz Fayzullayev joined the finals after their outstanding semi-final triumphs. The more experienced Kadamboyev needed a great third round to beat his compatriot, but he managed that tactical part effectively.
Uzbekistan’s next gold medal was captured by Azizbek Nurzullayev who had the full control over Azerbaijan’s Ali Abasli in the final of the lightweight. Georgia’s lone title in the Heydar Aliyev Cup was taken by Temur Pavliashvili who defeated such a strong boxer as Uzbekistan’s Fayoziddin Rakhmonaliyev at the 66kg.
Azerbaijan’s Shukar Aliyev claimed medals already in two editions of the European Boxing Championships despite his age of 16 and he had a fantastic job in the entire Heydar Aliyev U17 Cup. He became the strongest boxer in the men’s 80kg weight class once again after his powerful work against Salekh Farajov which final bout has finished in the first round with a stoppage.
Uzbekistan’s Elshod Oblakulov was one of the main favourites at the heavyweight (+80kg) in the Heydar Aliyev U17 Cup but he had a surprise loss in the semi-finals. Two of the top Kazakhs marched to the finals of the heaviest weight class, Ramazan Kaznabay and Nursultan Kemelkhan. The first was more punctual in the exchanges during their meeting and Kaznabay celebrated the last title of the competition.