The first competition day of the Boxam U15-U17-U19 has just started at the Camilo Cano Sports Hall in La Nucia, Spain where several of the future hopes shined in the opening session.
Altogether 246 female and male boxers from 21 nations from four continents are competing in the new edition of the Boxam Tournament.
Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Denmark, France, Iceland, Kuwait, Latvia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Serbia, host Spain, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Venezuela are participating in the Boxam U15-U17-U19 Tournament.
The bout of the day
Netherlands’ Marciano Pikero has relatively low number of bouts but he proved his attacking style of boxing and strength against Portugal’s Goncalo Rodrigues in the first round. The Dutch boxer tried to catch his Portuguese opponent in the second round but it was not an easy task due to Rodrigues’ longer hands. Pikero began the third round with a tough combination and his control in the last three minutes decided their contest at the 80kg.
The surprise of the day
Spain’s Efosa Wisdom Igbinovia, the European Junior medallist, competed in the European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica two weeks ago and he had a surprise loss to an Italian opponent. The 17-year-old Spaniard was slightly better in the exchanges than France’s Adem Atigui in the opening round but his opponent impressed in the second. The French had the stamina and the fighting spirit in the third to win their contest at the 80kg, turning back this fight.
The Round-Up
Mexico’s Mildred Salazar worked better on feet in the first round of her opener against Spain’s Olivia Marcos Fernandez at the 42kg among the U15 boxers. Their contest was first in the entire tournament and the Mexican had the height advantage with the technical superiority to keep her Spanish opponent on long. Salazar controlled the third round, she looked fresh and the Mexican won the opening contest of the Boxam.
Serbia’s Nina Damjanovic and France’s Nalcia Ballester both are very tall boxers at the 48kg and they had the similar fighting style on their meeting in La Nucia. The Serbian pugilist tried to be smarter in the exchanges in the first and second rounds as well which both were close on the scorecards. The referee counted the French boxer in the third round which guaranteed the success of the young Serbian talent in La Nucia.
France sent their best talents in the U15 age group and their Sunjie Lopes made the show in the opening day of the competition. The 14-year-old French girl controlled the first round against Mexico’s Naomi Borja and she finished the contest in the second after the standings counts, winning this 54kg fight. Spain’s Julia Navarro made the next strong performance among the U15 girls, the Barcelona-based talent defeated Mexico’s Erika Meza at the 52kg.
Serbia’s Mia Topic and Mexico’s Johana Perales had a very similar contest which was held between Nina Damjanovic and Nalcia Ballester. The Serbian used her height advantage in the first round to keep the safest fighting distance and she had the advantage on the judges’ scorecards after 90 seconds. Topic was tactically and technically better than her Mexican opponent and she won their meeting by points decision as the second Serbian today.
Romania’s Fabian Jipeanu looked better in the exchanges than Mexico’s Rodrigo Zamudio in the first round and he finished their contest at the 40kg of the U15 boys in the second with perfect punches. The next Romanian, Cantar Auras started the first round better than his smaller Mexican opponent, Oliver Sanchez at the 44kg. Auras danced through the whole area of the ring and despite his difficulties in the second round, the Romanian won their hectic contest in La Nucia.
The Madrid-based Unai Lopez, the European U15 Championships competitor from last year, walked over to the next round due his opponent from Mexico, Ricardo Figueroa was unable to box against him today. The next top Spaniard in the U15 age group, Fidel Echevarria had a hard battle against Mexico’s Jorge Moras and he also advanced to the next stage in the front of the home crowd.
Poland’s Dominik Drewnowski and his teammate, Krystian Hauf won their opening contests against Mexican opponents in La Nucia. The next Polish U15 boxer in action was Jan Bal at the 66kg weight class, he faced also a Mexican, Jose Ordaz today and he knocked down his opponent with a lethal shot. The Mexican went down to the floor and the referee stopped their contest which guaranteed Poland’s next triumph in the event.
Turkmenistan’s first boxer in action was Imamjan Arslanov who had a close opening round against Marco Rivera of Mexico at the 50kg of the U19 age group. The 17-year-old taller boxer from Turkmenistan caught his Mexican opponent with a heavy jab in the second round and the Spanish referee counted Rivera after that action. The Mexican was more focused after that moment and he could turn back their contest which he won by split decision.
Ukraine’s 17-year-old Mykhailo Sydorenko had strong results this year and he tried to go closer and reduce the fighting distance against Spain’s Ivan Gutierrez. After the first tactical minute, Sydorenko knocked down his Spanish opponent twice, his body shots were decisive today. The 50kg Ukrainian proved his outstanding strength today and his opening performance amazed the experts in La Nucia.
Iceland’s Ronald Bjarki Manason is a super talented boxer in the U19 national team and he competed also at the Brandenburg Cup this year. The Icelandic southpaw had a taller opponent, France’s Sami Jeddi therefore he was patient and he tried to find the best angles in the first round. The French found the best distance in time and he used his brilliant technical skills in the third round to beat the promising Icelandic opponent at the 50kg.
Spain’s Rodrigo Sanchez competed in the recent European U19 Boxing Championships in Loznica, Serbia and he continued his intense training sessions to compete in the Boxam Tournament as well. The 17-year-old boxer dominated the first round with his pressure against his teammate, Mohammed Yassin Benahmed and he finished their preliminary bout by RSC in the second.
Puerto Rico’s 17-year-old Hector Mulero used his distance better than Spain’s Hugo Montesinos and his jabs were dangerous already in the first round of their 60kg meeting. The outstanding Mulero caught his Spanish opponent two-times in the second and the referee confirmed his RSC victory. His teammate, Justhin Montalvo had a difficult tactical fight against Turkmenistan’s Abdyrasul Arslanov but he managed to win their exciting meeting at the 55kg.