Forty-five preliminary contests took place on the third competition day at the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul, Turkey today. Ukraine, England, Turkey, Ireland and Poland had a fantastic competition day, their boxers amazed the experts and the judges.
Armenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, England, Fair Chance Team, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales are representing the European Boxing Confederation in the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. The number of European boxers is 118 in Istanbul representing 27 different nations from all of the regions of the continent.
Boxers at the flyweight (52kg), featherweight (57kg), light welterweight (63kg) and middleweight (75kg) competed for the last 16 in Istanbul on Day3. Fifty-seven bouts will be held in the busy fourth competition day on Thursday in the event.
The bout of the day
Ireland’s 29-year-old Michaela Walsh was an Olympian boxer in Tokyo following her impressive performance in the European Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event. The Irish girl has been attending the international elite events since 2012 and she had the experience to manage her tactical job against United States’ Amelia Moore. The Irish featherweight (57kg) boxer returned to the ring after nine months but she was in shape and used her long-range tactic well against the US girl. Walsh’s counter-punches were strong and came with perfect timing therefore the Irish boxer moved through to the next stage.
The Round-Up
Ukraine’s Hanna Okhota eliminated a Kenyan boxer in the second competition day and her teammate, Tetiana Kob met with another hope from the East African nation. Kob is the most experienced boxer in the Ukrainian national team who qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and she had more than 200 contests during her career. Kob dominated the first round against Kenya’s Ann Wanjiru and following her powerful shots, the Sri Lankan referee counted the African boxer. The Ukrainian was highly confident in the second round too and she had a massive advantage after six minutes of contest. Kob and her coach Mr. Andriy Proskurnin both were confident in this contest and the Ukrainian veteran worked hard to win this first challenge in Istanbul.
Finland’s star Mira Potkonen finished her boxing career last year therefore their new No.1 is Vilma Viitanen who is only 21 but she earned several U22 medals already. The Finnish featherweight (57kg) boxer met with Spain’s Jennifer Fernandez who also progressed in recent years. Fernandez, who won the Golden Belt Tournament in Romania last month, moved a lot on feet and tried to stop Viitanen’s attacks. Both boxers are in excellent shape but only one of them could advance to the last 16 in this championship. Fernandez controlled the final round from long distance and her counter-punches decided their contest.
Ukraine’s Valeria Yeroshenko won her first elite national title six years ago and she was quarter-finalist at the 2016 EUBC European Women’s Boxing Championships. The Ukrainian featherweight (57kg) boxer returned to the events with a new national title and silver medal from the Golden Belt Tournament. Yeroshenko could not expect an easy contest against Guatemala’s Leilany Reyes who claimed a silver medal at the AMBC American Elite Boxing Championships five weeks ago. Yeroshenko used an excellent tactic, she kept her Central American rival on long and landed the best counter-shots. The Ukrainian controlled the last round with clear dominance launching hooks and won all of the three rounds in each of the scorecards.
Ukraine’s Karolina Makhno won gold or silver medals in all of her junior and youth championships between 2015 and 2018. The Ukrainian returned to the world of boxing with a national title and a gold at the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships. The 22-year-old boxer moved down to the middleweight (75kg) and she used her longer hands against Kenya’s Elizabeth Akinyi. Makhno landed several jabs in the contest and she was better in all of the exchanges from the first seconds. The Ukrainian middleweight (75kg) boxer landed her strong jabs in the second round and the referee counted her African opponent in that period. The younger Ukrainian decided the contest using her best combinations and guaranteed a strong day for her country.
England’s Charley Davison returned to the national team in 2019 after a long break and she qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The English flyweight (52kg) boxer was shocked by her Hungarian opponent, Beata Dudek in the first seconds and the referee counted Davison. The English boxer stepped into the gas immediately and turned back the image of the bout still in the first round. Davison dominated the second round but Dudek survived the dangerous moments and fought until the last gong. The English boxer was quicker in the exchanges and her speed decided their preliminary bout in Istanbul.
Poland’s Sandra Kruk is a veteran boxer, she earned a silver medal in the 2012 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. The Polish featherweight (57kg) boxer never stopped attacking and she dominated the first round against Croatia’s Dea Bolanca. Kruk felt that she could decide their preliminary bout and turned up the heat in the second when the referee stopped their contest after the standing counts. One of the favourites of the weight class, Italy’s EUBC European Champion Irma Testa also won her contest by RSC, she stopped Japan’s Mona Kimura today.
Poland’s next boxer in action was Agata Kaczmarska who replaced their Olympian, Elzbieta Wojcik at the middleweight (75kg). The 24-year-old Polish had several successes in the U22 age group and her progress is continuous therefore the coaching staff selected her to attend in Istanbul. Kaczmarska had an experienced rival, Barbados’ Kimberly Gittens who competed already at the Bridgetown 2010 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. The Polish boxer ruled the middle of the ring and she was more active than her Barbadian opponent therefore her hand rose after the final bell. Another tough boxer in this weight class, Turkey’s young Busra Isildar eliminated Kazakhstan’s Nadezhda Ryabets in one of the last contests of the day.
The quote of the day
“I enjoyed my comeback to the events and the first bout is always difficult in all of the big championships. I had to watch to my distance today as my opponent had quick attacks. I will check my next opponent and prepare against her in the upcoming days,” said Ireland’s EUBC European U22 Champion Amy Broadhurst who eliminated Croatia’s Sara Beram with a great performance.