Finland’s Sam Morovati celebrated a quick RSC triumph at the Boxam Youth & Junior Tournament

The semi-finals of the Boxam Youth & Junior Tournament were held in Crevillent, Alicante region in the third competition day of the event. Spain’s youth boxers amazed in the session while Finland’s Sam Morovati proved his strong future potential won his bout by RSC.

The following 13 nations are attending in the Boxam Youth & Junior Tournament: Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, EUBC Team, Finland, France, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine and Wales. Altogether 90 boxers could arrive to the competition and 64 bouts will be held in the upcoming days in 12 junior and 14 youth weight categories.

Boxers who were born in 2003 and in 2004 are eligible to attend in the youth part of the competition in Crevillent. The 2005 and 2006 born talents can attend in the junior age group in this international tournament. The Technical Delegate of the Boxam Youth & Junior Tournament is Mrs. Susanne Karrlander of Sweden.

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 Spain avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the new edition of the Boxam Youth & Junior Tournament.  

The bout of the day

Spain’s powerful Enrique Kakulov attended at the 2020 EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships and he joined to the youth age group in January. The 17-year-old boxer had a tough tactical job as he had to meet with Ganda Coulibaly in the semi-finals following his first success over one of the top boxers, Oier Ibarreche. Kakulov tried to reduce the fighting distance against Coulibaly who had 15cm height advantage in their contest. Kakulov is aiming for a place in the Spanish team to the next year’s youth championships and he had the strong motivation to beat his national rival. The final verdict was unanimous decision in the favour of Kakulov who secured his place in the title bout.

The surprise of the day

Fabio Mazzilli achieved silver medal at the annual Danas Pozniakas Youth Tournament in Lithuania and he competed also at the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. The 18-year-old light welterweight (63.5kg) boxer had a tough local rival, Victor Manuel Catalino Vargas who has strong roots from the Dominican Republic. Catalino started better but Mazzilli surprised his opponent with his effective combinations and landed multiple shots especially in the second part of the first round. Catalino also competed in several events out of Spain but Mazzilli and his experiences paid off in this contest. Catalino has done an impressive final round and gave in everything to win their fantastic bout in Crevillent.

The Round-up

Spain’s Rafael Lozano Serrano is the defending EUBC European Youth Champion at the minimumweight (48kg) who is their nation’s first ever gold medallist in the history of the event. The 17-year-old boxer competes at the flyweight (51kg) in Crevillent where he opened his campaign against his teammate, Ander Beltran. Spain’s top youth talent controlled the first round and the French referee counted his opponent one-time also which guaranteed Lozano’s advantage after three minutes. Lozano used his world class footwork to catch his opponent from various angles and he won the bout by large margin of differences.

Spain’s Iker Dehesa Villanueva attended at the 2020 EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships at the flyweight (50kg) but lost his first contest. The 17-year-old boxer moved up to the featherweight (57kg) since his junior international event and faced with Elias Chakour in the semi-finals. Both boxers had the same height, fighting style and technical skills therefore the first round was a tactical period between them. Dehesa moved more ahead in the second but Chakour had the speed to handle these attacks successfully. Chakour had good defensive skills and he worked hard in the second part of the bout to win their contest in the Boxam Tournament.

Spain’s Salvador Flores Luque was quarter-finalist at the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Budva and he proved impressive development this year. He faced with another experienced international boxer, Wales’ Romeo Costa who is aiming for a place in their squad at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The taller Welsh boxer could not use his height advantage well in the first round due to Flores’ speed. Flores landed excellent hooks in the second round and he had the power and energy to control their narrow bout. Costa moved more ahead in the second and landed uppercuts but Flores had the strong defence to win their top bout in Crevillent.

Croatia’s Leon Buzik not only competed at the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships last month but he advanced to the quarter-finals in Budva and lost to only the eventual winner Ukrainian, Bozorboy Matyakubov. The experienced Croatian welterweight (67kg) talent was better in the exchanges than his Spanish opponent, Guillermo Guevara and took the lead on the scorecards. The referee counted the local boxer in the second and the 17-year-old Buzik worked well enough to join to the final of the weight class.   

Spain’s Frank Martinez achieved silver medal in the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Budva last month which was his career highlight. The Spanish welterweight (67kg) boxer had a Swiss opponent, Felix Meier and he overcame his rival in the attacks. The Spanish southpaw moved more on feet and his quick actions were effective in the first and second rounds. Meier is a four-time National Champion in his homeland and he was competitive but Martinez had the experience to beat the Swiss talent.

Finland’s Sam Morovati attended at the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships in 2019 and at the annual EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships. The 18-year-old boxer moved up to the light middleweight (71kg) but he is impressively tough in this category despite of his relatively low number of bouts. Morovati was strong in the exchanges in the first round against Norway’s Ahmed Shidokaev and he looked confident in their bout. The Spanish referee counted the Norwegian twice and confirmed Morovati’s RSC victory still in the first round of their semi-final.

Spain’s Antonio Segura had tough disadvantage after the first round against Norway’s Adam Arsaev who landed the better shots in the opening minutes. The Norwegian middleweight (75kg) boxer was confident in the contest but Segura adopted the level of the bout in time to turn it back with impressive stamina. Segura’s final opponent will be Belgium’s three-time National Champion 17-year-old Noa Hadjit who eliminated EUBC Team’s Daviti Shubitidze in the second semi-final.

The quote of the day

“I came here to represent my country as only one from Finland and in spite of the technical difficulties I has done my best today. I was confident after the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships and the Swiss coaching staff supported me in the ringside. I have good connection with all of the teams here and I have the clear goals here and also for the near future. I would like to win our Elite National Championships and compete in the 2022 EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships, then in the Elite,” added to his success the always polite Sam Morovati of Finland.