England won four finals in the Golden Gong Tournament
16 November 2021Twelve final contests were held in the third and last competition day at the 50th Golden Gong Tournament in Skopje, North Macedonia which event returned to the European boxing map after two years of break. Ireland’s light middleweight (71kg) talent Luke Maguire was named as the Best Boxer of the Golden Gong Tournament.
Altogether 13 nations competed at the Golden Gong Tournament in Skopje: Bulgaria, Croatia, England, Hong Kong, Ireland, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, host North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Wales.
England topped the medal standings in the Golden Gong Tournament with their four gold medals, but Kosovo, Serbia, Ireland, Montenegro, Wales and North Macedonia also earned titles in the event. Out of the participating 13 nations, 12 achieved medals in the 50th Golden Gong Tournament.
The Technical Delegate of the 50th Golden Gong Tournament was Mr. Dragoljub Radovic of Montenegro as in the previous editions. 47 elite male boxers attended in the new edition of the Golden Gong Tournament in Skopje where the athletes at the light middleweight (71kg) were divided into two groups.
The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, wearing masks and all of the health controls were the responsibility of the local organizers in Skopje avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the new edition of the Golden Gong Tournament.
The bout of the day
Ireland’s Dean Patrick Clancy won the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships in Roseto degli Abruzzi this June but he could not attend at the AIBA World Boxing Championships due to his illness. The Irish light welterweight (63.5kg) boxer met with England’s Joseph Tyers who is also one of the members of their new generations. The 20-year-old Irish boxer met with high resistance in the best final contest of the Golden Gong Tournament. The 21-year-old English boxer gained the control in the second round and he defeated Ireland’s No.1 in the final of the competition.
The surprise of the day
Ukraine’s Rostyslav Bilostotskyi has got already five years of international experiences among the elite and U22 boxers therefore he was the main favourite for the gold medal at the bantamweight (54kg). The 24-year-old Ukrainian met with one of the most developed Kosovan boxers, Bashkim Bajoku in the final at the Golden Gong Tournament. The younger Kosovan showed better and better performance events by events this year and Bajoku was able to win this final contest with his impressive stamina.
The Round-up
North Macedonia’s Jasin Ljama won one bout at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Belgrade and he spent the recent two weeks to prepare well to the Golden Gong Tournament. The host nation’s best boxer dominated the first round against Bulgaria’s Yoan Filipov and he took the lead on the scorecards. Ljama not only proved that he is technically better but his powerful combinations led him to win the final of the lightweight (60kg) by RSC in the second round.
John O’Meara is a new English national team member who not only competed at the featherweight (57kg) in Skopje but he won the gold medal of his division. The young English boy kept the best fighting distance against Ireland’s Sean Purcell and he defeated his rival by unanimous decision. A 20-year-old Welshman, Ioan Croft used his excellent technical skills to beat Moldova’s Davron Bozorov in the final of the light middleweight (71kg).
England’s new light heavyweight (80kg) talent Aaron Bowen faced with Montenegro’s Emir Sabotic in the final and he was able to control the title contest from the first seconds. Montenegro’s second finalist Milorad Puric is newcomer in the national team but Serbia’s Slobodan Jovanovic had to do his very best to beat him in the final of the cruiserweight (86kg). The third finalist from Montenegro, Dimitrije Milic succeeded in Skopje, he landed enough punches to beat England’s Courtney Bennett at the super heavyweight (+92kg).
