The 77th edition of the Strandja Memorial Tournament continued with 57 preliminary bouts and the women boxers also joined the busy campaign. Brazil’s World Champion Rebeca Santos, Bulgaria’s Kristiyan Dimitrov, Australia’s Lekeisha Pergoliti and Kazakhstan’s Elina Bazarova all won tough contests on Day2.
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
Brazil’s Rebeca De Lima Santos replaced the Olympic silver medallist Beatriz Ferreira in the national team and she won a top event immediately, the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool last year. The 25-year-old South American faced England’s Lucy Kings-Wheatley who switched to boxing only a few years ago but she developed all of her skills to world class level. The smaller Santos had a hard job against the English girl but she managed to win this meeting in Sofia.
The surprise of the day
Austria’s first ever medallist in a World Championship, Michael Derouiche used his distance well in the first round against Bulgaria’s Kristiyan Dimitrov. The local boxer received the right instruction in his corner and he stepped into the gas from the beginning of the second round which efforts were successful in the exchanges. Dimitrov won the second and the third rounds in all of the judges’ scorecards and he eliminated one of the favourites.
The Round-Up
Germany’s Maxi Kloetzer qualified for the Paris Olympics and she was in amazing shape in the year of 2024. The 51kg boxer had several difficulties last year therefore she needed three minutes to acclimatize back to the ring. Her opponent, Gulsevar Ganiyeva of Uzbekistan won the first round but the 25-year-old German found the best tempo in time to turn back their bout.
Ireland’s Daina Moorehouse had a fantastic year as a youth boxer in 2018 but she needed five more years in the elite events to reach the level of the national squad. The Irish boxer had to do her very best in the last round to beat Mongolia’s Mungunsaran Balsan but her stamina was enough to make that happen.
Following Lozano’s tight loss, her teammate, the World silver medallist Yoseline Perez proved much better performance in the second day of boxing. The US boxer controlled all of the three rounds against Germany’s ex-kickboxer Tatjana Obermeier and Perez marched into the next stage at the women’s 54kg.
Bulgaria’s Venelina Poptoleva started her career with a gold medal at the 2013 Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships. After a few poor years, she returned to the national team four years ago and she earned already medals in top championships. The Bulgarian overcame Egypt’s Habiba Aly in the attacks and she bagged the host country’s first victory in the second day of boxing.
England’s Kelsey Oakley represented her nation at the recent World Boxing Championships half year ago and she needed three minutes to find the best tempo against Turkey’s Eda Nur Kilicci. She received the best advices in the ringside during the break and from the second round, she had the full control to beat the Turkish boxer.
Caitlin Fryers has been preparing hard for the Commonwealth Games where she is one of the favourites at the women’s 51kg weight class. The Irish girl proved her technical skills against Kazakhstan’s Anita Adisheva and the strong first and second rounds guaranteed Fryers’ clear success today.
Ireland’s next sensation, the Paris Olympian Jennifer Lehane made the show in the preliminary stage of the women’s 54kg today. She had some surprise successes last year but she is still in progressing stage, which she proved in her battle over a Welsh girl, Helen Jones today.
Kazakhstan’s Elina Bazarova claimed a gold medal at the 2022 Youth World Boxing Championships and since then she competed in several top events. The Kazakh had a strong game plan against Australia’s Olympian Monique Suraci and she used her height advantage also well enough today. Bazarova was patient in the exchanges and she landed her punches with perfect timing therefore the young Kazakh eliminated a top Australian.
Australia’s Lekeisha Pergoliti achieved a fantastic silver medal at the 2025 World Boxing Championships and she travelled more than one day to compete in the famous Strandja Memorial Tournament. The Aussie boxer moved forward against Uzbekistan’s young Oysha Toirova and her hooks were effective in most of the exchanges. Pergoliti felt the tempo, she jumped into the best distance to land her jabs and all of her efforts delivered a success for the 70kg boxer.
Kazakhstan’s Baglan Kenzhibek is a native talent in our sport and he won his opening bout in Sofia on Day1 but he did not have any chance to relax, as he had to face Uzbekistan’s Abdulaziz Abdunazarov today. Kenzhibek impressed once again and he joined the quarter-final stage of the Strandja while his teammate, Timur Kabdeshov lost to United States’ Lorenzo Patricio in the next 55kg battle.
Bulgaria’s Yasen Radev returned to the national team and the multiple European medallist used his technical skills well to keep Turkmenistan’s young Meylis Shadurdyyev in a safest distance. Radev saved fuel for the later actions in the last round but he delivered one of the best performances at the men’s 55kg.
Uzbekistan’s Akmaljon Isroilov became a gold medallist at the 2024 Youth World Boxing Championships and he immediately won the Elite World Boxing Championships in Liverpool at the age of 19. The Uzbek landed his punches with perfect timing against Ireland’s Nathan Ojo and he started his campaign well at the men’s 85kg.
Ukraine’s Danylo Zhasan made his international debut exactly 10 years ago and he is one of the aces at the men’s 85kg in this Strandja Memorial. The Ukrainian controlled the first round against Czechia’s Daniel Komarek who won his first preliminary bout in the World Boxing Championships last September. The experienced Ukrainian did not underestimate the Czech boy and he won their contest by unanimous decision.