Finland’s European bronze medallist Emma Jokiaho delighted the local fans with her great finish during the quarter-finals of the 44th Gee Bee Tournament in Helsinki today.
The Gee Bee Tournament is a great international competition with excellent possibilities to prepare for the big championships this year, including the European Elite Boxing Championships.
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland, United States of America and Wales are the participating countries in the upcoming edition in Helsinki.
The bout of the day
Finland’s best female boxer, Pihla Kaivo-Oja is focusing to the major championships therefore Emma Jokiaho, their European bronze medallist is the flag bearer of the local team. The experienced boxer was not able to maintain the best fighting range in the first round therefore Jokiaho needed strong advices in the break. Finland’s pride worked better in the second and she made turned back their quarter-final bout with an exceptional third round.
The surprise of the day
Scotland developed women’s boxing in the recent years and their girls had a few strong international results in the 2020s. Their female boxers are keeping their eyes on the next Commonwealth Games which will be held in Glasgow, Scotland this July. Their Lara Brown does not have enough international experience yet but she had the stamina and the strong will to beat Kazakhstan’s Aidana Zabynbekova today.
The Round-Up
Kazakhstan’s 37-year-old Zhaina Shekerbekova had a tight success over Netherlands’ Gabriella Weerheim which was one of the best contests of the first day of boxing. The Kazakh veteran expected another hard battle in the opening bout of the second day against Italy’s Sirine Charaabi which was an exciting battle between the two Olympians. Charaabi bagged a bronze medal at the recent World Championships but she was competitive only in the second round this time therefore the Asian Champion Shekerbekova advanced to the semi-finals at the 54kg.
Wales has a small female team but the quality of their boxers are world-class which their Helen Jones proved once again in an international event. The Welsh girl controlled the first round with punctual punches against Germany’s Tatiana Obermeier who switched back to boxing from another martial art. Jones ruled the exchanges from her safest distance and she defeated the German national team member in the quarter-final at the 54kg.
Netherlands’ Tara Vogels is a big puncher and she received the right to compete at the women’s 57kg weight class in Helsinki following her teammate, Gabriella Weerheim moved down to the 54kg. The Dutch talent worked well in the first round against Finland’s Anna Tyni but her opponent, as Jokiaho in the 54kg, turned back their hectic quarter-final bout.
Ana Khunjua represented Georgia in the 2010s and she decided to switch to Belgium and she earned already tournament titles for her new nation. Khunjua had a powerful opponent from the US Development team, Deborah Grant who had impressive attacks especially in the second and third rounds to win this 57kg bout.
Denmark’s Alice Bennedbaek claimed the title at the annual Golden Girl in Sweden and despite her low number of bouts, she became a medallist also at the Gee Bee Tournament. The Danish boxer was never stopped attacking against Italy’s Madalina Grabucea and her great finish guaranteed a spot for Bennedbaek in the last four at the 57kg.
Scotland’s Nicholas Devlin returned to the national team due to the Commonwealth Games and he was a member of their delegation at the recent World Boxing Championships in Liverpool. The Scottish had the confidence against Italy’s Tiziano Alciati and he had the strong control in all of the three rounds today. Another excellent 60kg boxer in the Gee Bee, the US Yahir Diaz-Martinez eliminated Belgium’s Nadir Boulaiz unanimously.
Netherlands’ Mahmoud Al Chabtoun, one of the King of the Rings, is one of their most experienced male boxers in the squad and he had a strong start against Finland’s Konsta Junttila at the men’s 60kg. He saved some fuels in the third round for the upcoming bouts but he won their quarter-final bout with solid performance.
His teammate, the World Championships competitor Finn Bos used his strength to beat Scotland’s Taylor MacMahon in the quarter-finals of the 70kg. Germany’s Randy Botikali has a very busy schedule with events this year and he had the energetic attacks and the tempo to beat Italy’s Fabio Smedile.
The women’s 70kg is another strong category at the Gee Bee Tournament in Finland where Kazakhstan’s Asian U22 Champion Zhasmin Kizatova controlled her quarter-final against Sweden’s Alexandra Zhurzhenko. France’s returning European U23 Champion Maelys Richol eliminated Finland’s Vilma Kuusikko using her longer reach effectively in the next bout of this weight class.
Wales’ Rosie Eccles was very disappointed with her results in the Paris Olympics and she needed one and half year to recover and return to the sport. She had a strong debut at the Boxam Tournament earlier this year and she demonstrated her progress against Denmark’s veteran Ditte Frostholm in the quarter-finals of the 70kg.