The twenty-three exciting semi-finals were on the official schedule of the third competition day at the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic. The Polish team performed strongly on Day3, their Jakub Slominski, Pawel Brach, Damian Durkacz, Mateusz Goinski, Tomasz Niedzwiecki and Mateusz Bereznicki all advanced to the finals.
The Grand Prix Usti nad Labem is a traditional boxing event which holds for the elite male boxers this year. The Grand Prix is one of the last preparation competitions before the start of the EUBC European Men’s Elite Boxing Championships which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia next month. The Technical Delegate of the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem is Mr. Viorel Sima of Romania.
Altogether 91 male boxers are attending in the new edition of the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem including countries from Ukraine, Germany, Brazil, Morocco, England, Armenia, Bulgaria, Wales, Poland, Hungary, Finland, Greece, host Czech Republic, Norway, Austria and Luxembourg.
The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, the vaccines check, wearing masks and all of the health controls are the responsibility of the local organizers in Serbia to avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the Belgrade Winner Tournament.
The bout of the day
Brazil’s Abner Junior Teixeira achieved bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games and after that amazing success, he continued the training sessions without any stoppage to be in good form for the main events in 2022. The Brazilian moved up to the super heavyweight (+92kg) in the beginning of this year and he won the AMBC American Elite Boxing Championships. Junior had a fantastic semi-final opponent, the seven-year younger German diamond, Nikita Putilov. The 19-year-old German proved his native talent in the recent two EUBC Championships and he was highly competitive for the Brazilian star too. Putilov landed several jabs therefore the Brazilian had to increase his rhythm in the beginning of each round to win their tight contest.
The surprise of the day
Czech Republic’s Kelvin Sequessa is one of their youngest team members who joined from the youth age group and this Grand Prix is his debut among the elite boxers. The Czech teenager surprised his German opponent, Nick Bier who competed in the 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships with successes. The German boxer eliminated strong opponents during his road to the semi-finals of the welterweight (67kg) but Sequessa performed good enough to win this contest in Usti nad Labem. The young Czech will be meeting for the title with Poland’s energetic Tokyo Olympian, Damian Durkacz.
The team of the day – Poland
Ukraine’s Dmytro Molodan was bronze medallist at the 2018 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and he is one of their future hopes in the national team. Molodan went down to the featherweight (57kg) and he claimed several medals in his new category but a young Polish boxer in the semi-finals of the Grand Prix, Poland’s Pawel Brach, shocked him. Molodan did not find the best tempo in the first round against the Polish boxer and Brach’s attacking style paid off in this semi-final bout delivering a small sensation on Day3. The Polish boxer will now meet for the title of the Grand Prix with Brazil’s AMBC American Champion Luiz Gabriel Chalot Oliveira. Brach’s teammates as Mateusz Goinski, Tomasz Niedzwiecki and promising Mateusz Bereznicki all advanced to the finals making a strong day for Poland.
The Round-up
Wales’ Owain Harris is relatively new in the international tournaments but the National Champion proved that he is not only a strong fighter but he has the skills to win bouts in such traditional event as the Grand Prix. The Welsh bantamweight (54kg) boxer used good strategy against Ukraine’s Siyovush Mukhammadiyev and advanced to the final of the category where he can box against Armenia’s Rudolf Garboyan. His teammate, Taylor Bevan delivered a second place in the finals for Wales after beating Finland’s Nikita Nystedt at the light heavyweight (80kg).
Austria’s EUBC European U22 Champion Ahmed Hagag lost his first preliminary contest in the Grand Prix but his teammate, Marcel Meinl advanced to the finals in Usti nad Labem. The middleweight (75kg) boxer used his height advantage against Hungary’s Robert Cservenka and took the lead on the scorecards after three minutes. The Hungarian, who returned from an injury, changed his strategy and moved ahead more in the second round therefore the final verdict depended on their performance in the third. Meinl used his distance better in the last period once again and eliminated the Bocskai Memorial Tournament winner Hungarian.
Germany’s Kevin Boakye Schumann is an excellent boxer and his coach Mr. Michael Timm developed him step by steps in the recent years. He claimed silver medal at the 2021 EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships and arrived to Usti nad Labem as the main favourite of the middleweight (75kg). The 24-year-old German was highly confident in his contests and performed strongly against Poland’s Bartosz Golebiewski in the day of the semi-finals. Schumann landed the stronger punches and his technical skills decided their contest in Usti nad Labem winning the semi-final unanimously.