Philippines’ Clark Vicera, Turkey’s Refik Kartal, Armenia’s Vagharshak Keyan and Canada’s Amber Wall won the best contests in the opening day of the 63rd Belgrade Winner Tournament in Serbia on Day1.
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Philippines, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales are the 25 participating nations in the Belgrade Winner Tournament this year.
The Belgrade Winner Tournament is a perfect preparation option for the main goals of the year such as the European Elite Boxing Championships which will take place in Sofia this September, the Commonwealth Games, the Panamerican Boxing Championships and the Asian Games.
The bout of the day
Philippines has a huge tradition in the smallest male weight category and they have three strong options at the men’s 50kg. The 19-year-old Clark Vicera received the right to compete at the Belgrade Winner Tournament and she was a hard target for Kazakhstan’s Youth World bronze medallist Dias Berikbay today. The Kazakh forward from the first seconds, while Vicera worked from longer distance in their meeting and his effective combinations guaranteed a success for the Filipino teenager.
The surprise of the day
South Korea’s Bak Cho Rong is member of the national team since 2014 and she claimed medals already in top events as the Asian Boxing Championships as well. The veteran Korean has been preparing to the Asian Games and the Belgrade Winner Tournament is a perfect stoppage for her on that road. Bak was patient against Canada’s Amber Wall but she did not land enough shots in the contest and the North American newcomer had the advantage on the scorecards after two rounds. Wall has only 48 bouts during her career and the Belgrade Winner is just an international debut but she eliminated a well-experienced rival.
The Round-Up
Turkey’s Salih Samet Oruc had a strong start in the Belgrade Winner Tournament’s opening bout and his aggressive style of boxing delivered for him a success against Bulgaria’s European medallist Ergyunal Sebahtin Sabri at the men’s 50kg. Bulgaria’s next boxer in action, Zlatislava Chukanova, was more successful in her opener, she eliminated Ukraine’s taller Taisiia Pokusai at the women’s 51kg.
Hungary’s twin sisters, Laura and Karmen Horvath switched their weight categories in the recent weeks and both opened their campaigns in Belgrade on Day1. Laura eliminated Wales’ tall Niamh Brookes at the 51kg, while Karmen started the first round with impressive hooks against Spain’s 19-year-old Claudia Alcaniz. The Spaniard was nervous in the first round but after that she calmed down, and Alcaniz turned back their contest at the women’s 54kg weight class.
South Korea’s Olympics bronze medallist Im Ae Ji has nine years of international experience and she demonstrated that advantage against Ukraine’s Maria Mandziuk. Im had the speed advantage on their women’s 54kg meeting and she felt the best fighting range from the first seconds. The 27-year-old South Korean controlled all of the three rounds today and she managed her pathway to the semi-finals in Belgrade.
Turkey’s Nilay Yaren Cam eliminated her Greek opponent, Maria Virgetaki with excellent performance in the women’s 54kg weight class, continuing her great season in Belgrade. The next Turkish boxer, who succeeded, Ece Asude Ediz was stronger in the exchanges than Spain’s Andrea Cardenas at the women’s 57kg.
Canada’s Victoria Vergos is a member of their Development Team and she enjoys her participation the Belgrade Winner Tournament. The Canadian has 55 bouts, mostly in the national level, but he opened the first round against Spain’s Andrea Cardenas with confidence. The Canadian, who is No.2 in her homeland, controlled the bout in all of the three rounds and she earned a well-deserved success at the 57kg.
Italy’s Karol Cristian Harpula had great U17 and U19 international results in the recent years and he is now member of their elite squad as well. The young Italian waited for the best attacking angles against Ukraine’s Danylo Kryzhanskyi and he had some unexpected punches from various ranges. The Italian celebrated the success after the confirmation of the bout and he marched to the quarter-finals at the busy men’s 70kg.
Montenegro’s Milos Roganovic, the winner of the recent Vllaznia Memorial Tournament in Albania, had a technician performance against Turkey’s Cem Kaya and he advanced to the quarter-finals at the men’s 70kg. Romania’s Daniel Grigorie was confident against Saudi Arabia’s Nayif Almowalad and he also joined the quarter-finals.
Turkey’s Refik Kartal shocked Cuba’s National Champion Jorge Cuellar in the first round with a heavy punch and the referee counted the Caribbean boxer. The Turkish athlete worked from longer distance in the second round, he tried to be smarter than the attacking Cuellar in their 70kg bout. The Cuban made more risks in the third round but the Turkish worked well with full focus to eliminate Cuellar in a superb preliminary bout.
Kazakhstan’s Beksultan Boranbek, the Youth World Champion, had some difficult moments in the first round due Armenia’s Vagharshak Keyan was never stopped attacking. The 19-year-old Kazakh was quicker and technically better than the Armenian but Keyan had the strength to eliminate those differences. Keyan finished the bout with heavier punches and he defeated one of the favourites at the men’s 55kg weight class.
Ukraine’s European Youth Champion Maksym Zymenko had a great start in the Belgrade Winner Tournament against a local boxer at the 55kg. The Ukrainian southpaw used his longer hands well against Serbia’s experienced Omer Ametovic and he won their meeting by unanimous decision. Hungary’s experienced Istvan Szaka also joined the quarter-finals after beating Canada’s Karan Sembhi today.
Philippines’ Paul Julyfer Bascon had a difficult first round against Hungary’s former European Junior Champion Levente Olah but he switched his tempo after the break. The Filipino found also his best rhythm in time to win their 60kg bout and his exceptional last round guaranteed a success for him. Cuba’s southpaw, Luis Enrique Vinent was also outstanding in this weight class, he triumphed over Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Mihajlo Djekic.