The 24th edition of the Mustafa Hajrulahovic Talijan Memorial Tournament started with 18 contests in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. Croatia’s Olympian Nikolina Cacic and Montenegro’s former European Youth Champion Mirko Sarcevic made strong returns to the international events.
Bosnia & Herzegovina’s next international event gives the opportunity for the elite and U19 boxers to prepare well for the upcoming major championships.
The bout of the day
The U19 boxers opened the Mustafa Hajrulahovic Memorial Tournament in Sarajevo where the Ukrainians made a good start. Italy’s Tommaso Orlando and Ukraine’s Serhii Artemenko both are top U19 boxers in their national teams therefore their meeting was one of the best fights in Sarajevo on Day1. Orlando, who claimed a silver medal in the 2025 edition of the European U19 Boxing Championships, was slightly better than the experienced Ukrainian and he won their tight 55kg bout.
The surprise of the day
Satsuki Yoshizawa was a quarter-finalist at the World Boxing Cup Stage 1 and the Japanese boxer is one of the strong members of the national team. She had to replace the Olympic Champion Sena Irie in the squad but she proved better and stronger performances in the recent competitions. Yoshizawa had a tight but successful bout against Lithuania’s experienced top female boxer, the European Women’s bronze medallist Ana Starovoitova at the 60kg.
The Round-Up
Algeria’s Fatiha Mansouri has been preparing for the upcoming Mediterranean Games with full speed and she reached her top shape in the recent weeks. She impressed in her opener against Japan’s Hinata Yoshida and she won their meeting unanimously at the women’s 51kg. Korin Kokofu won the next Japan vs. Algeria battle, she had the great finish to beat her North African opponent, Douaa Rouaz at the 54kg.
Croatia’s Nikolina Cacic started her career with a silver medal at the 2018 Youth World Boxing Championships and she qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as well. The currently 25-year-old Croatian made a strong comeback in the Mustafa Hajrulahovic Memorial Tournament where she defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Fani Filicic at the women’s 57kg weight class as her first challenge.
The next Lithuania vs. Japan contest was held between the World Championships competitor Iveta Lesinskyte and Naoko Kasahara at the women’s 75kg weight category. Japan rarely has boxers in this division but Kasahara fought out the place in the team and she has been preparing for the Asian Games. Lesinskyte had more international events and bouts during her career, which was the difference between them in their meeting.
Youcef Islem Yaiche competed in the last edition of the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool where he almost defeated the star of the event, Kazakhstan’s Torekhan Sabyrkhan. The Algerian boxer moved a lot on feet and he made strong efforts to beat Lithuania’s powerful Aleksandr Trofimcuk at the men’s 70kg weight class.
Montenegro’s Mirko Sarcevic claimed a gold medal at the 2023 edition of the European Youth Boxing Championships and after a short break, he decided to return to the national squad a few months ago. The 21-year-old boxer was dominant against Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Ivan Herceg and he made a strong debut at the Mustafa Hajrulahovic Memorial Tournament.