Bulgaria’s duo Javier Ibanez and Petar Belberov demonstrated their power in Belgrade on Day4

The 48 winners at the featherweight (57kg), welterweight (67kg) and super heavyweight (+92kg) advanced to the next preliminary stage to the round of 16 at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Belgrade, Serbia on Day4. The Bulgarian duo, Javier Ibanez and Petar Belberov destroyed their rivals today and won their contests by RSC and KO.

Following four long competition days, 192 bouts are done in the AIBA World Boxing Championships where the total number of boxers is 510 from 88 nations representing four Confederations. Among the 88 countries, 38 arrived from the European continent which competes with 246 boxers in Serbia’s capital city. The Technical Delegate of the AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships is Mr. Marko Marovic of Croatia.  

The bout of the day

Ukraine’s Viktor Petrov had impressive junior and youth career between 2011 and 2014 but he was not able to do the real breakthrough among the elite boxers yet. After five poor years, he regained his place in the national squad and arrived to Belgrade as one of the most motivated boxers. The 25-year-old welterweight (67kg) boxer had to meet with Russian Boxing Federation’s Evgenii Kool who is their new National Champion in this division. Petrov was too experienced for the younger Russian and his technical skills decided their bout in the Serbian capital. 

The surprise of the day

Armenia’s Davit Chaloyan replaced Gurgen Hovhannisyan at the super heavyweight (+92kg) in the national team following he returned to the sport after a short break. The 24-year-old Armenian had a tough opponent as first, Ukraine’s Tsotne Rogava who claimed silver medal at the Strandja Memorial Tournament earlier this year and achieved strong results in other events. Chaloyan found the weak points of the Georgian-descent Rogava and delivered a surprise with his success on Day4. 

The Round-Up

France’s Samuel Kistohurry lost only two contests in the recent two years and claimed high number of international tournament titles including the gold at the Cologne Boxing World Cup and the Bocskai Memorial Tournament. The 26-year-old French featherweight (57kg) boxer had a pressurizing tactic against England’s EUBC European Boxing Championships silver medallist Niall Farrell and his intense actions took the lead on the scorecards. The English boy was competitive for Kistohurry but the French had the ring experience to take to victory in this difficult contest.

Former AIBA Youth World Champion Javier Ibanez switched from Cuba to Bulgaria and this AIBA World Boxing Championships is his debut representing his new homeland. The 25-year-old boxer had a success in the first preliminary round but he proved even better performance in his second appearance in Belgrade. Ibanez landed not only punctual punches but these were powerful and stopped Croatia’s Filip Kolak in the second round winning the bout by RSC.

Azerbaijan’s Mahammad Abdullayev claimed gold medal at the 2017 EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships and replaced three-time AIBA World Champion Mahammadrasul Majidov at the super heavyweight (+92kg) in 2018. Abdullayev is 22-year-old currently and he has got the experiences to beat many of the top opponents. He met with Lithuania’s Jonas Jazevicius in the round of 32 and dominated the first round with his speed and rapid attacks. The Lithuanian moved ahead but Abdullayev had all of the technical abilities to win their contest unanimously.

Germany’s Nelvie Tiafack has got the best expectations at the AIBA World Boxing Championships from their national team who was named among the favourites at the super heavyweight (+92kg). The 22-year-old German used the recent five years with his coaches including Mr. Lukas Wilaschek to reach the level of the top boxers. Tiafack was faster in the exchanges than Saint Lucia’s veteran Ryan Charles who trains in the United Kingdom. The German increased his tempo in the second round and stopped his Caribbean opponent following his powerful jabs.

Europe is strong at the super heavyweight (+92kg) and another young talent proved his amazing development, Spain’s Ayoub Ghadfa Drissi who has got three and half years of experiences in the international stage. The 23-year-old Spaniard has got wonderful athletic skills and he looked confident in the first round against Kazakhstan’s Nurlan Saparbay. Ghadfa defeated the Central Asian boxer at the Boxam Tournament this March and due to his first and second rounds, he was able to do that once again on their re-match.

Bulgaria’s Petar Belberov had a tough local opponent this year, ex-Cuban Yordan Hernandez but he defeated him twice and received the right to compete at the super heavyweight (+92kg) in Belgrade. The 31-year-old Bulgarian met with Seychelles’ All Africa Games silver medallist Keddy Agnes who has got also ten years of international experiences. Belberov’s right-handed jab was crucial in their contest and that punch delivered a classical KO triumph for the experienced Bulgarian.

Serbia’s former Russian boxer, EUBC European U22 Champion Vakhid Abbasov used his strength to control his contest against Nepal’s South Asian Games winner Sanil Shahi and marched to the last 16 at the welterweight (67kg). Another former EUBC European U22 Champion, Georgia’s Lasha Guruli used his long distance tactic against Slovakia’s Michal Takacs and he demonstrated his excellent technical skills once again. The Georgian joined to the next stage of the same weight category which is a strong one in Belgrade.

Quote of the day

“I started my road with the national team at the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships three and half years ago and now I could beat a strong Kazakh boxer. I was confident prior the contest as I defeated him in the semi-finals of the Boxam Tournament in Castellon de la Plana earlier this year. I started strongly, I won two out of the three rounds and won this wonderful battle against the Kazakh today,” said Spain’s Ayoub Ghadfa Drissi after his victory over Kazakhstan’s Nurlan Saparbay at the super heavyweight (+92kg).