Five of the titleholders defended their thrones at the Pécs 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships

The second edition of the European Women’s Boxing Championships was held in Pécs, Hungary in 2003 which proved strong increases in comparison to the first event. Five of the titleholders defended their thrones in the Pécs 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships.

The number of the weight classes have been increased up to 13 to the second European Women’s Boxing Championships. The first competition day of the 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships was May 11 in Pécs where the finals were scheduled on May 17. Following the semi-finals, a rest day was held on May 16 before the 13 finals of the continental event.

The total number of the boxers was 117 in Pécs which was a rapid development after the first 2001 edition. The following 20 nations attended in the 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships in Pécs: Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Turkey, and Ukraine.

Host Hungary, Romania, Russia and Ukraine were the four nations which attended with maximum number of 13 boxers in the 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships. Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Israel, Italy, and Poland were the debutant nations in the Pécs event.

Russia topped the team rankings with nine medals including three gold in Pécs where Ukraine, Turkey and Italy each achieved two titles in 2003. The host Hungarians achieved seven medals in the front of the home crowd and among them the team claimed one gold. France, Romania and Norway also earned one gold medal in Pécs where Poland, Germany, Sweden, Finland and Greece were also on the medal table.

Romania’s Camelia Negrea impressed in the quarter-finals of the pinweight (46kg) when she eliminated France’s titleholder Oria Mahmoud. The Romanian boxer was too smart also for Russia’s Elena Sabitova in the final of the continental event. Turkey’s Hulya Sahin was titleholder in the European Women’s Boxing Championships who had a tough final against Hungary’s Monika Csik but she succeeded in Pécs.

Italy’s two-time AIBA Women’s World Champion Simona Galassi had amazing records in women’s boxing and she claimed her first European title in Pécs after beating Turkey’s Hasibe Ozer in the final of the flyweight (50kg). Her 23-year-old teammate Marzia Davide, who claimed silver at the 2002 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, delivered the second gold medal for the Italian team following her success over Russia’s Elena Karpacheva in the final of the bantamweight (54kg).

Ukraine sent full team to the Pécs 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships where Viktoria Rudenko bagged their first gold medal. The Ukrainian light bantamweight (52kg) boxer had a narrow final fight against Sweden’s Katrin Enoksson which she won by accepted scores. Her fellow Anzhela Torska claimed Ukraine’s second gold medal in the event where she spent short times in the ring using her strength to beat her opponents including Hungary’s Viktoria Kovacs in the final.

Norway’s Henriette Birkeland-Kitel was titleholder in the European Women’s Boxing Championships and achieved silver in the 2002 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships. Following her success over Russia’s Svetlana Kulakova in the semi-finals, she dominated her final against Poland’s Karolina Michalczuk taking her second European title. Russia’s Tatyana Chalaya also defended her throne in the European Women’s Boxing Championships after she stopped Germany’s Sonja Dürr in the final.

France’s Myriam Lamare was an impressive boxer in the early 2000s who controlled all of her fights also in the Pécs 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships. The French light welterweight (63.5kg) boxer was too strong for Russia’s Maria Karlova in the final and achieved her second European title. Russia’s AIBA Women’s World Champion 25-year-old Irina Sinetskaya was impressed in Pécs and defeated Ukraine’s Oleksandra Kozlan in the final which guaranteed her second European title after 2001.

Turkey’s lone title was achieved by Nurcan Carkci who eliminated Hungary’s AIBA Women’s World Champion Ivett Pruzsinszky in the semi-finals and continued her winning path against Poland’s Karolina Lukasik who is still active in 2020. Russia’s Natalia Ragozina took the title of the middleweight (75kg) after beating Hungary’s Anita Ducza in the final. Hungary’s AIBA Women’s World Champion Maria Kovacs dominated the heavyweight (86kg) and bagged her first European title.

List of the winners in the 2003 European Women’s Boxing Championships

• Pinweight (46kg): Camelia Negrea, Romania
• Light flyweight (48kg): Hulya Sahin, Turkey
• Flyweight (50kg): Simona Galassi, Italy
• Light Bantamweight (52kg): Viktoria Rudenko, Ukraine
• Bantamweight (54kg): Marzia Davide, Italy
• Featherweight (57kg): Henriette Birkeland-Kitel, Norway
• Lightweight (60kg): Tatyana Chalaya, Russia
• Light welterweight (63kg): Myriam Lamare, France
• Welterweight (66kg): Irina Sinetskaya, Russia
• Light middleweight (70kg): Nurcan Carkci, Turkey
• Middleweight (75kg): Natalia Ragozina, Russia
• Light Heavyweight (80kg): Anzhela Torska, Ukraine
• Heavyweight (86kg): Maria Kovacs, Hungary