Further 41 preliminary bouts featured in the second day of boxing at the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships which began in Montesilvano, Italy. Mostly the junior girls were in action in the sessions of the day and Ireland’s Ava Rose Lyndon Henry won the tightest contest in Italy. Lithuanian, Hungarian and Greek girls delivered the surprises of the day after their unexpected successes.  

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

Ireland’s Ava Rose Henry Lyndon not only won all of her recent national competitions, but she dominated the strong Golden Girl Box Cup in Sweden this May. The Irish lightweight (60kg) boxer had to meet Czech Republic’s junior No.1, Katrin Ivanovova who was also unbeaten this year as Henry Lyndon. The two favourites had to face each other already in the Round of 16 at the preliminary stage therefore this bout was the mostly awaited challenge of the second competition day. The 16-year-old Czech tried to use her best weapon, the counter-attacking style but the Irish had the speed and stamina to catch Ivanovova. Henry Lyndon needed a strong final round to be sure that she can beat the Czech boxer in Montesilvano.

The surprises of the day

Denmark’s Nadja Munkholm arrived to the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships with a perfect yearly record, she won all of her contests in the previous competitions. The 16-year-old Danish was a real gold medal contender at the women’s featherweight (57kg) in Montesilvano. Munkholm was nervous in the first round against Lithuania’s Junior National Champion Gabriele Sinickaite and her Baltic rival surprised her in this Round of 16 contest. The Lithuanian used her pressure to beat the main favourite of the weight class delivering a sensation in the second day of boxing.

Hungary’s Sara Nyogeri joined the junior national team this January following her switch from the schoolgirl level to this age group. The 15-year-old Hungarian, who trains near to the capital city, exceeded all of the coaches’ expectations in her opening Round of 16 contest against Turkey’s Melek Yigit. Her opponent was one of the gold medal contenders at the light bantamweight (52kg) but Nyogeri dictated the tempo and her attacking style was highly uncomfortable for the Turkish girl. The Hungarian had the power to keep her advantage until the last gong and advanced to the quarter-finals of the championship.

The Round-Up

The Greek girls had excellent results in the junior and youth age groups in 2021 and in 2022 which medals made their opponents more careful against them. Lamprini Giannakopoulou has strong family connections to our sport and she moved back to the flyweight (50kg) in the previous months. This is the perfect category for the 16-year-old Greek who controlled the first round against Kosovo’s Erinda Veliu taking the lead of the judges’ scorecards. Giannakopoulou received the right instructions in their corner and her current skills were enough to eliminate the talented Kosovan girl.

Azerbaijan increased its interest to women’s boxing and their junior female team is one of their best ones in the event’s history. Aynur Mikayilova already proved her skills at the Gheorgheni Open Tournament three months ago and her fantastic combinations guaranteed her success over Germany’s Bianka Balint. In another flyweight (50kg) contest, England’s EUBC European Schoolgirls Champion Alice Pumphrey was too smart for Romania’s Bornemissza Memorial Tournament winner Luciana Maria Petrache but Spain’s favourite Noelia Gutierrez also marched to the quarter-finals.

The women’s featherweight (57kg) is one of the strongest categories in the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships and narrow contests were held in the second day of boxing. Kosovo’s Suela Canolli has already four years of ring experiences and those paid off against Croatia’s Gabriela Vencl. Poland’s Martyna Jarzabek had a tight success over Hungary’s Sara Varga on their re-match while Greece’s Panagiota Kouzilou had a fantastic success over England’s Monae Hetherington-Smith.

Slovenia’s Naca Nikolov Veber’s elder brother is a successful member of their U22 and elite national team and the 16-year-old girl continued the family traditions on Day2. The lightweight (60kg) hope, Veber controlled two out of the three rounds against Armenia’s Lilit Asatryan and delivered an outstanding success for Slovenia. Italy’s Ginevra Muzzi had the strong fighting spirit against Romania’s Miria Andor and the referee confirmed her RSC triumph in the same weight category.