Another great international tournament in Lithuania isgoing to be held in Kaunas this week. 29th AlgirdasSocikas, the competition that will gather elite men and women, is on program from 20 – 24 March. This three days tournament is named after the famous Lithuanian boxer, Algirdas Socikas, who was two times European champion (Warsaw, 1953 and Berlin, 1955) in the heavyweight category. It was a time when the heaviest category was above 81 kg. He was also six times Soviet Union champion, and three times Baltic champion.

Last year 100 boxers from Armenia, Belgium, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Sweden, Ukraine and Wales took part in Kaunas. Some of the most famous boxers in the 2023 edition were Ukrainians Oleksandr Khyzhniak and Yurii Zakhariev. Khyzhniak, who was boxing in the 80 kg weight category, was Olympic vice-champion, World champion and European champion, while Zakhariev, who fought in 71 kg weight category, won the gold medal at the World Championships in Belgrade in 2021.

Technical Meeting will be done on 20 March, while the Official Draw and first day of boxing will be on Thursday, 21 March. Men boxers will box in 12 weight categories, except the 48 kg, while the women will compete only in 75 kg and 81 kg weight category.