Turkey’s Onen Zeynep, Germany’s Jule Woche and Australia’s Bilal Souied made surprise successes at the 34th edition of the Ahmet Comert Bosphorus International Boxing Tournament in Istanbul on Day5.
Such great boxing nations as Australia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Germany, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan are competing at the Ahmet Comert with strong boxers.
The city of Istanbul will be the host of the next edition of the European Games on June 16-27 in 2027.
The bout of the day
Kyrgyzstan’s Paris Olympics silver medallist Munarbek Seiitbek Uulu used his patient style of boxing against Germany’s Denis Bril but his opponent also adopted that tactical chess game in the first round. The 30-year-old Kyrgyz was more punctual in the second round and he looked more fresh also in the third mentally and physically to reach the final of the 60kg weight class after his victory in the bout of the day.
The surprise of the day
Kazakhstan’s Gulnaz Buribayeva spent her career mostly out of her country in various international competitions and she is aiming for a top elite result. The Central Asian started better than Turkey’s Onen Zeynep and she had the advantage on the judges’ scorecards after one round. The local boxer felt the support of the home crowd and she made a big U-turn from the second round therefore Zeynep caused a surprise success on Day5.
The Round-up
Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers had a superb boxing career in the 2010s and she decided to continue her job in the ring to achieve something big this year. The Irish girl is small in the women’s 51kg but she had energetic attacks against Turkey’s Emine Kilinc and she won all of the three rounds in the first semi-final of the day.
Australia’s Leah Anderton earned a bronze medal at the U19 World Boxing Championships in Pueblo one and half year ago and now she is aiming for the top spot in the elite national team. The Aussie boxer moved forward against Turkey’s Eda Nur Kilicci in the first round but the local girl used her distance better and she had the advantage on the scorecards. The Turkish boxer had unpredictable movements, she outperformed technically the Australian and she joined the finals of the women’s 51kg.
Turkey’s two young hopefuls such as Salih Samet Oruc and Nurullah Oyan had to meet in the first semi-final of the men’s 50kg in Istanbul today. Oruc worked from longer distance and she felt the tempo better in the first and second rounds therefore he had the advantage after six minutes. Oruc reduced his speed in the third round to save power and he was more static but his skills were enough to win the first male semi-final of the day.
The Uzbek management decided to send the 2021 Asian Champion Sitora Turdibekova to the Ahmet Comert Tournament instead of the current Asian Boxing Championships. The 24-year-old Paris Olympian controlled all of the three rounds against Turkey’s Berfin Polat and she joined the final of the women’s 60kg. Turdibekova’s final opponent will be another Turkish boxer, Esmanur Lok who eliminated Australia’s Jasmine Poole in the second semi-final.
Turkey’s Vedat Kacar had to meet his teammate, the talented Alperen Yilmaz in the semi-finals of the men’s 75kg division. After the first tactical round, Kacar turned up the heat and his strategy worked well to beat an experienced opponent in the last four. He will now face for the title Australia’s Toby Reading who had a successful mission against Turkey’s Berke Sadettin Sahap.
Ukraine’s Anastasia Chernokolenko earned her first World medal still back in 2014 and she moved down two weight categories since that success. The veteran Ukrainian used her distance better against Serbia’s World bronze medallist Nikolina Gajic and she was better minutes by minutes in the exchanges. Chernokolenko’s efforts guaranteed her spot in the final of the women’s 70kg where she will be boxing with her 14-years-younger teammate, the European Youth Champion Anastasia Taran.
Moldova’s Andrei Zaplitnii competed in dozens of competitions in the recent 10 years and he had the routine to beat Turkey’s Muhammet Yagiz Tunc in the semi-finals of the men’s 90kg. The Moldovan controlled all of the three rounds from his best fighting range and he can expect a hard final battle in Istanbul.
Germany’s new national team member in the women’s squad, Suada Ibraimovski is a newcomer in the international stage of boxing but she tried to use top footwork to avoid her opponent’s attacks. Uzbekistan’s Robiyakhon Bakhtiyorova ruled the middle of the ring in their semi-final bout at the 48kg and her routine was decisive today.
Ukraine’s Ivan Zavadskyi dictated the tempo against Ireland’s World Championships competitor Adam Hession and he took the lead after three minutes. The Irish boxer switched into a higher tempo and he tried to catch the Ukrainian was Zavadskyi delivered his best performance with perfect timing in the semi-finals of the 60kg.
Turkey’s Erivan Barut and Ireland’s Niamh Fay both earned gold medals at the 2022 edition of the European U22 Boxing Championships in different weight categories. The Irish boxer controlled the second round impressively and she had the stamina in the third to beat her top opponent. Fay will now meet for the title of the women’s 57kg Serbia’s Jelena Zekic who has more than 10 years of international experience.
Kazakhstan’s Bakytzhan Aitmukhanov had the technician performance to find the best counter-attacking angles and stopped Australia’s Bilal Souied. The Aussie boxer caught the young Kazakh with powerful combinations and his pressure paid off in the second round when the referee confirmed his RSC victory at the 85kg.
Germany’s Jule Woche was almost unknown before the start of the Ahmet Comert Tournament but after her tough five competition days, she is now a finalist at the women’s 65kg. The German boxer found the best fighting range in the beginning of the second round and she eliminated Romania’s Andra Crinuta Sebe to meet Kazakhstan’s Assem Tanatar for the gold medal.