The Spanish and the Belarusian boxers made a fantastic evening session at the European U19 Boxing Championships Loznica, Serbia.
Altogether 354 boxers from 36 nations are participating for the 20 titles and the 80 available medals in the European U19 Boxing Championships.
Boxers who were born in 2008 and in 2009 are eligible to participate in the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica.
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine are the participating nations in Loznica.
The bout of the day
Montenegro’s European U17 Champion Matija Roganovic and Italy’s Luca Casarsa made a fantastic first round in their 85kg preliminary contest which was a final-level fight in Loznica. The 17-year-old super talented Montenegrin, whose elder brother is member of the elite national team, landed several punches from closer distance and he used his strength today. Roganovic had the advantage in several aspects today and he enjoyed a unanimous success in his opening contest.
The surprise of the day
Spain’s 17-year-old Rodrigo Sanchez Herranz worked hard in the international pre-training camp of the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica and his efforts paid off in his opening bout. The Spaniard dictated the tempo against Germany’s strong Beker Nemer from the first seconds and the referee stopped their contest in the second. Sanchez joined the last sixteen of the men’s 60kg weight class with superb opening performance on Day1.
The Round-Up
Italy’s Daniele Fabi has excellent technical skills and he tried to use his best tempo to catch England’s George Francis in the first round. The Italian led 3-2 on the judges’ scorecards after three minutes of fight and he could do even better in the second against the tough English opponent. The 17-year-old Italian was patient and waited for the best moments in the exchanges and his outstanding style of boxing guaranteed for him a place in the last 16 at the men’s 60kg division.
Ireland’s Kalib Walshe had excellent pedigree from the past and he worked hard in all of the three rounds to show his extraordinary skills against Israel’s Ilai Avraham, continuing his nation’s strong start in Loznica. Lithuania’s Simonas Puniskis celebrated a quick success against North Macedonia’s Semi Elmazi and he managed his pathway to the last 16 at the men’s 60kg weight class easily.
Serbia’s Nikola Bogatinoski and Turkey’s Furkan Avar made a real manly fight in the first round of their 60kg preliminary bout. The Serbian caught his Turkish opponent in the end of the opening round and he had a tight advantage after three minutes. Avar received the right instructions in the first break and his efficiency was significantly increased in the second round. Bogatinoski started the third round with great hooks but Avar’s strength decided their busy Round of 32 contest in Loznica.
Slovakia’s Kristian Harasnik and Latvia’s Bogdan Pronins both have the routine from the previous main international tournaments and championships therefore the first round of their meeting was close. The Slovakian had the tight advantage after the first round and he was still able to increase the rhythm from the second period. Harasnik enjoyed the bout in the last round and he had a comfortable success against a strong Baltic opponent today.
Armenia’s Samvel Siramargyan, the European Youth Champion, was smaller than Israel’s Dzhozef Shalelashvili but he ruled the middle of the ring and he could reduce the fighting distance successfully. The 18-year-old Armenian proved that he is a gold medal contender at the men’s 80kg weight class and he dominated all of the three rounds against the inexperienced boxer from Israel.
Spain’s Efosa Wisdom Igbinovia is a powerful puncher and the European Junior bronze medallist used excellent footwork and strong punches to keep the control against Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Marsel Fazlic in the evening session. Igbinovia had amazing defensive skills and he landed his counter-attacks with perfect timing to win their preliminary bout at the men’s 80kg weight category. His teammate, Samuel Antezana made a wonderful debut at the 85kg, he eliminated a more experienced Irish, Shaun Doohan.
Georgia’s World Boxing Future Cup hero Davit Mkhetsadze and Azerbaijan’s Renat Giyasli dictated world-class tempo in their meeting today and the first became the winner and kept his chance alive to be a medallist in Loznica. Russia’s Prokhor Startsev won the battle of the southpaw boxers against Turkey’s Toprak Salman which was one of the best contests at the men’s 80kg today.
The Belarusians made strong efforts in the evening session, firstly their Mikita Kasatski eliminated his Bulgarian opponent, Antonio Damyanov. Secondly his teammate, Nazar Stalchuk was too smart for one of the best Greek boxers, Ioannis Poumpouridis at the 85kg division. The third succeeded Belarusian was Ilia Nahornyi, he stopped Abdulkadir Daci of North Macedonia at the 90kg.