France’s star duo Bennama and Oumiha won tough contests in the Liventsev Memorial Tournament on Day2

The new edition of the Liventsev Memorial Tournament is a Round Robin Tournament between four strong boxing nations. France’s duo AIBA World Champion Sofiane Oumiha and Tokyo Olympian Billal Bennama defeated their Ukrainian rivals in Minsk where the host nation’s pride Uladzislau Smiahlikau has done excellent performance.

Minsk was the host also the European Games on June 2019 which supported the development of the Belarusian boxers during their road to the Olympic Qualifiers. The Liventsev Memorial Tournament has got a strong brand name and top boxers returned to the Belarusian capital.

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 Belarus to avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the Liventsev Memorial Tournament.

Bout of the day

France’s Sofiane Oumiha achieved silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games but after that he decided to continue his boxing career. The Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Champion met in the second day of boxing with Ukraine’s Yaroslav Khartsyz who won the Strandja Memorial Tournament and many other big events previously. The 26-year-old French used his unpredictable movements to find the best counter-attacking angles against the Ukrainian who also proved his strong technical skills. Oumiha was a hard target in the second day of boxing for Khartsyz and won their outstanding contest in Minsk.

Surprise of the day

Ukraine’s Anna Lysenko joined to the national team in 2016 and she attended in a few big events but she is currently No.2 at home behind Maria Badulina-Bova. The Ukrainian welterweight (69kg) boxer surprised France’s favourite Emilie Sonvico with her effective combinations in the first round. The French, who had top results in the recent one year, tried to do her best in the contest but Lysenko was shocked her on Day2.

The Round-Up

France’s Mona Mestiaen lost in the first day of boxing to Spain’s Jennifer Fernandez which was a small surprise at the women’s featherweight (57kg). The experienced French delivered better performance in the second competition day when she had a top quality rival, Ukraine’s Yulia Tsyplakova who has got more than 10 years of experiences in the national team. Mestiaen controlled the contest with great attacks and defeated her veteran rival unanimously in Minsk.

France’s Billal Bennama claimed bronze medal at the Yekaterinburg 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships and he has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games. The 22-year-old French boxer enjoys his stay at the Liventsev Memorial Tournament and controlled his contest against Ukraine’s Daniil Katehin at the flyweight (52kg). Bennama had the advantage after the first round in each scorecard but he decided the contest in the second with heavy blows returning to the international stage with a superb success.

Belarus’ European Games silver medallist Uladzislau Smiahlikau has been attending in the international events since 2016 and he is one of the highest hopes of the country besides to Dzmitry Asanau. The Belarusian heavyweight (91kg) boxer had the confidence in the first round against Ukraine’s former EUBC European Youth Champion Ramazan Muslimov. Smiahlikau continued his dominancy in the bout and he won his second bout by unanimous decision on home soil.

Results: Session 3

Daily schedule: Day 3