The longest possible competition day with 64 preliminary bouts took place at the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships in Montesilvano, Italy on Day3. All of the winners advanced to the quarter-finals of the championships and among them Armenia’s Andranik Martirosyan won the most difficult contest of the day.
Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine are the participating nations in the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships.
The number of the female boxers is 119 and their most crowded category is the featherweight (57kg) with the participation of 15 boxers. The 234 male boxers is near to the record in the history of the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships.
The girls and boys both are able to participate in 13-13 weight categories from the pinweight (46kg) up to the heavyweight (+80kg) in the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships. The female and the male boxers who were born in 2006 and in 2007 are eligible to participate in the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships.
The bout of the day
Armenia’s Andranik Martirosyan achieved a gold medal at the EUBC Schoolboys European Boxing Championships in Sarajevo in 2021. The Armenian boxer joined their junior age group this January and he had several months to adopt the new situation. Martirosyan had a favourite rival in the third day of boxing, Greece’s Georgios Pleas who reached the quarter-finals in the last edition of the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships. The younger Armenian opened the contest with nice combinations but Pleas adopted the high rhythm of this Round of 16 bout. The final verdict was depended on their performance in the last round and the Armenian landed strong shots to beat the Greek No.1.
The Round-Up
Italy’s Antonio Marsala Fortunato had only four international contests prior the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships but he won all of them. The 16-year-old Italian began his active boxing career just before the Covid-19 outbreak and after three years of experiences, he is one of the favourites at the light flyweight (48kg). The Italian had a tough first round against Hungary’s Peter Benedek who spends his first year among the junior boxers. Fortunato switched his tempo in the beginning of the second round and he was able to beat a speedy rival in Montesilvano.
Bulgaria’s Angel Yankov Dimitrov faced a dangerous rival at the light flyweight (48kg), Georgia’s Roman Guseinovi. His Georgian opponent was only a quarter-finalist in their 2021 Junior National Championships but the Rustavi-based boxer developed his skills so rapidly this year. The Bulgarian shocked Guseinovi in the first round and Dimitrov took the lead on the judges’ scorecards after two minutes of fight. The Bulgarian was able to keep the same strong performance in the second and third rounds to beat Guseinovi marching to the last eight in Montesilvano.
Latvia’s Nikolajs Zamjatins has four years of experiences in the competitions already and he proved top performance this year. The Latvian featherweight (57kg) boxer had a tough Round of 16 opponent in the third day of boxing, France’s Djamel Mohamed-Ali Djemmal but he had more contests than his rival had during his career. Zamjatins received the right instructions in the first and second breaks to win this tough contest and joined the quarter-finals of the championship.
Azerbaijan’s Mahammadali Gasimzade was named as one of the gold medal contenders of the featherweight (57kg) before the start of the championships. The 16-year-old Azeri dominated the first round against Germany’s Nick Smirnov which determined the final result of their meeting in Montesilvano. Gasimzade was better in all aspects of boxing, he won the contest by unanimous decision, and he will have an Irish opponent in the next stage. Another favourite of this category, Bulgaria’s Viktorio Iliev controlled his contest against Moldova’s Artiom Tolstoi and secured a spot in the quarter-finals.
Moldova’s Daniil Guranda enjoyed his relatively good draw in the third day of boxing and he eliminated Slovenia’s Gal Patrik Tojnko at the lightweight (60kg) controlling all of the three rounds. Spain’s best male junior talent, Asier Lanzarote used his unpredictable movements and his technical skills guaranteed his success against Italy’s Andrea Capitani in the same weight category. Greece’s Vasileios Topalos had a hard battle against France’s Sandro Spica but he found the way in the last round to beat his experienced rival.
The light bantamweight (52kg) is another strong category at the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships. Scotland’s Luis Wardrope won the first Round of 16 contest against Hungary’s Kevin Kozak on Day3 following the two nations had joint training camp before the event. Latvia’s experienced Emmanuils Sidorenko had strong job against Cyprus’ Theocharis Tsachov and marched to the quarter-finals. Armenia’s Erik Arstamyan and Bulgaria’s Evelin Kolev proved also wonderful performance in this weight category.