Further 46 bouts featured in the new edition of the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria in the second day of boxing. Altogether 93 contests were on the agenda in the opening two days and several new stars are approaching in Sofia.
England’s EUBC European Junior Champion Enriko Itauma enjoyed his return to the international events and spent only two minutes in the ring. The Polish, the Hungarian, the Armenian and the Georgian male boxers impressed one again on Day2 while Belgium’s Noa Hadjit won a crucial battle in the evening session.
Altogether 402 boxers registered from 40 nations to the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships and among them 377 arrived to Sofia, which made the event busy and high quality. The Bulgarian Boxing Federation hosted the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in 2019 last time and after three years, the event returned to Sofia.
Boxers who were born in 2004 and in 2005 are eligible to attend in the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Sofia. The 2021 edition introduced the new youth weight categories, the girls attended in 12 while the boys in 13 different weight classes in Montenegro and the schedule is the same in Sofia too.
The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, wearing masks, the vaccines check and all of the health controls were the responsibility of the local organizers in Bulgaria avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships.
The bout of the day
Belgium’s Noa Hadjit was quarter-finalist in the last edition of the EUBC Youth European Boxing in Budva therefore his objective is clear, to earn a historical youth medal for his promising nation. The Belgian had 40 contests during his career and won a few international tournaments already but he could not expect an easy opening against Turkey’s Muhammet Furkan Karadag on Day2. His Turkish opponent is a strong fighter with excellent physical condition therefore Hadjit tried to be smarter in their top contest. The Belgian middleweight (75kg) boxer was able to keep the full concentration until the last bell and won one of the narrowest bouts of the day.
The surprise of the day
Czech Republic’s David Polak won three contests in the last 2021 edition of the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Budva last October. He marched to the title bout but lost to an Armenian boxer and achieved silver medal at the cruiserweight (86kg). The Czech talent had to meet with another Armenian opponent in the new edition, Aghvan Aleksanyan who opened the first round with clear dominance. Polak arrived to Sofia to achieve his second EUBC medal but Aleksanyan destroyed his dreams on Day2.
The Round-Up
Poland’s Nikolas Pawlik was bronze medallist at the 2020 EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships in Sofia and returned to the city to take his next big achievement. The Polish boxer failed to get his second medal in Tbilisi last year but he proved amazing developments in Georgia. Pawlik has the strong mission in Sofia and he opened the first round against Israel’s Sofian El-Okby in different rhythm. The Polish youngster was a hard target and his world-class footwork decided their preliminary bout at the minimumweight (48kg).
Georgia’s Demur Kajaia impressed in the previous schoolboy and junior championships and claimed two European titles earlier. The Georgian talent joined to the youth competitions only this January but he is his nation’s best weapon in Sofia. Kajaia not only used his excellent technical skills in the first round of the light welterweight (63.5kg) against Finland’s Lorik Haliti but he had the advantage in physical conditions too. The 17-year-old Georgian led 10:8 in each scorecard after three minutes and the referee stopped the contest in the second confirming Kajaia’s RSC success.
Poland’s Oliwier Szot spends his second year in the youth age group but he has already several years of international experiences and high number of contests. The 18-year-old talent followed his coach father’s instructions and took the lead on the scorecards against a dangerous opponent, Belgium’s Vasken Ghayenian. The Belgian adopted the rhythm of the contest but Szot increased his tempo and received the right advices from his ringside. Szot landed the decisive punches in the third round and the Finnish referee stopped their contest.
Hungary’s Rafael Buza claimed silver medal already at the 2018 EUBC European Schoolboys Boxing Championships and he has more than 100 contests and arrived to Sofia as medal contender. The Hungarian light welterweight (63.5kg) boxer controlled the first and second rounds against Israel’s Tomer Benny and following Kajaia, and Szot, he also decided his opening bout by RSC in the third. The weight category is strong in Sofia, Czech Republic’s Samuel Korcek, Ireland’s Thomas McDonnell, Spain’s Enrique Kakulov and England’s Osama Mohamed impressed on Day2 as well.
Bulgaria’ Kiril Borisov earned bronze medal at the 2018 EUBC European Schoolboys Boxing Championships and he has excellent records to achieve a top result at the super heavyweight (+92kg). The Bulgarian dominated all of the three rounds against Czech Republic’s Filip Koci and won their contest by unanimous decision. Another experienced boxer of this weight category, Croatia’s Lovro Pavcec had a narrow contest against Armenia’s Albert Harutyunyan but he managed to win this challenge before Ukraine’s Oleksandr Zelenskyi stopped his Irish rival.
England’s EUBC European Junior Champion Enriko Itauma could not box in the Covid-19 period but he trained hard in the gym to develop his physical skills. The currently 18-year-old English boy enjoyed his comeback to the international events and his coaches built up a strong strategy against a top rival, Georgia’s EUBC European Schoolboys Champion Tariel Sharikadze. Itauma used his height advantage and power to land lethal jabs in the first round and the Georgian ringside abandoned their preliminary bout after two minutes.
Hungary’s EUBC European Junior Champion Levente Olah is one of the biggest punchers at the lightweight (60kg) but his rival, Scotland’s Sonny Kerr was able to box against him until the last gong. The 17-year-old Hungarian boxer was not enough punctual in his deburring contest but his impressive motivation decided their preliminary bout. One of his main rivals in this category, Armenia’s Erik Israyelyan spent only 82 seconds in the ring and knocked out Germany’s Arman Gohar Shenasan Esfahani.
The live streaming in the third competition day
You can follow all of the Day3 actions LIVE from the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships Sofia 2022 in these links: