Albania won two contests in the second day of boxing at the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships
20 November 2020Further fifteen contests have been held in two sessions in the second competition day at the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Budva, Montenegro. The Albanians won two contests on Day2 in the continental event and remained their chances alive to get medals in Budva.
The following 22 nations are attending in the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships Budva 2020: Albania, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine.
Boxers who were born in 2002 and in 2003 are eligible to attend in the EUBC European Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Budva. The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, wearing masks and all of the health controls are the responsibility of the local organizers in Montenegro to avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the EUBC European Confederation Youth Boxing Championships.
The bout of the day
Armenia’s Narek Zakharyan and Russia’s Chezrav Ashalayev both claimed bronze medals at the 2018 EUBC European Junior Boxing Championships in Anapa. Dagestan-based Ashalayev defeated more experienced boxers in their Youth National Championships and he was picked as member of the national team following that gold medal. The Russian boxer had longer reach in their bout but Zakharyan was a hard target in the first round of their tactical battle. Ashalayev received several punches from the Armenian side in the second round but he was able to turn back the fight in the third when Zakharyan looked exhausted in the final minute. The Russian boxer used all of his physical advantages in the bout and joined to the next round in Budva.
The surprise of the day
Following Russia’s Mikhail Usov’s expected success over Spain’s Francisco Javier Mejias, another strong battle was held at the men’s middleweight (75kg) on Day2. North Macedonia’s Ajhan Ozmen had strong junior results and he was the favourite against Albania’s Santiago Selimaj who moved up to the middleweight (75kg) only in the recent weeks. The taller North Macedonian did not find his best rhythm against the aggressive Albanian boxer who had a strong spirit to beat his opponent. The referee stopped the contest following Selimaj’s lethal punches which meant Albania won its first bout in Budva.
The round-up
The Moldovan team started the competition well enough with an excellent success on Day1 which was delivered by Vitalie Prisacaru over Spain’s Oier Ibarreche. Their next 17-year-old boxer in action was Stefan Vozneacovschi who tried to reduce the fighting range against Poland’s taller Beniamin Zarzeczny. The Polish boxer was quicker in the first round and kept his Moldovan opponent long in the opening minutes. Vozneacovschi changed his rhythm in time in the beginning of the second round and eliminated his Polish rival in Budva.
Russia’s Tengiz Kotoyan is only 17 but he won their Youth National Championships against more experienced rivals. He tried to overcame Romania’s Samuel Gabriel Roman in the attacks with quick movements and danced through his opponent. The Romanian boxer moved forward but Kotoyan stepped more in the right and left directions to find the best counter-attacking angles. The Russian boxer advanced to the next stage of the lightweight (60kg) with remarkable performance in Budva.
Serbia’s Semiz Alicic won gold medal at the Anapa 2018 EUBC European Junior Boxing Championships and the 18-year-old talent delivered tournament titles also among the youth boxers. Alicic moved up to the lightweight (60kg) this year but he adopted the strength of the punches in the preparation events. The Serbian boxer had longer hands than Latvia’s Maksim Golubovskis and landed effective punches in the opening minutes. The referee counted the Latvian boxer in the second round therefore the Serbian southpaw won the bout unanimously.
Following Santiago Selimaj’s fantastic victory, another Albanian boxer, Arlind Cera also shined in the second competition day. Cera was quarter-finalist in the 2019 EUBC European Junior Boxing Championships and joined to the youth age group this January. The 17-year-old Albanian light heavyweight (81kg) landed better punched than Romania’s Iura Cureleac and defeated his opponent. Cera had only 40 bouts during his career but he delivered Albania’s second success in the day.
Ukraine’s Yuriy Zakhareyev is the defending champion at the welterweight (69kg) who arrived to Budva to achieve his second European title. The 18-year-old Ukrainian was too strong and experienced to Bosnia & Herzegovina’s Vuk Micic in the first preliminary round of category. In the last bout of the second session Romania’s EUBC European Junior Boxing Championships bronze medallist Cosmin Daniel Hermeziu used an aggressive tactic to beat Czech Republic’s technician Milos Beranek.
