Kurban Bayranbekov won the bout of the day at the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament
09 December 2021Several times the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament is the last international event in the boxing calendar but this year there are still further activities after this traditional competition. The World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament started with impressive sessions in Nizhnevartovsk where Russian National Champion Kurban Bayranbekov won the bout of the day.
The event was held in Beloyarskiy and Khanty-Mansiysk in the previous years but relocated to the city of Nizhnevartovsk this time. The women’s and men’s elite tournament is dedicated to the memory of Farman Salmanov and welcomed boxers from various Confederations and nations from several parts of the world. Altogether 34 female and 105 male boxers are competing for the 19 available titles in Nizhnevartovsk.
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 Russia avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the new edition of the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament.
The bout of the day
Russia’s Kurban Bayranbekov won their National Championships at the age of 20 this September which was a big surprise in the event. The young talent had to meet in the third session of the competition with another Russian boxer, Rasul Saliev who is also a National Champion. Saliev had more international contests than Bayranbekov but his speed was not enough to catch his opponent. Bayranbekov competed in the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Belgrade and since that appearance he proved developments in Nizhnevartovsk eliminating Saliev.
The surprise of the day
Russia’s Nikita Voronov achieved the gold medal at the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships in Roseto degli Abruzzi this June and the talented middleweight (75kg) boxer competed in several other international events with triumphs. The 23-year-old boxer was not enough shape in the first round of his quarter-final against his compatriot, Sergey Sergeyev and his opponent surprised him. Voronov could not find the distance and the best weapon in Nizhnevartovsk and suffered an unexpected loss in the event.
The Round-up
Valentina Bustamante represented Italy until 2019 and switched to Chile where she became the best female boxer of the South American nation. She worked seriously hard in the recent two years to reach the level of the best boxers and arrived to Nizhnevartovsk as favourite at the lightweight (60kg). She met with an experienced Belarusian girl, Alla Starodub who competed in all levels of boxing excluding the Olympic Games. Bustamante moved forward without any stoppage and her pressure was too much for the Belarusian veteran.
Belarus’ Dzianis Salotskikh was a surprise boxer at the AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships where he defeated more experienced rivals. The young Belarusian continued his campaign at the World Cup of Petroleum Countries Tournament and met with a tough opponent, Kyrgyzstan’s Nurzhigit Dyushebayev who is No.2 at the flyweight (51kg) in his homeland. Salotskikh has the good footwork and he felt the distance better from the first round therefore the Belarusian can show his upgraded skills in the next stage.
Russia’s Sergey Sobylinskiy claimed gold medal at the 2009 AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships and at the 2010 EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships. Since then he won also several elite competitions but he could not attend in the main events due to Andrey Zamkovoy’s successes. Sobylinskiy is now highly experienced and opened his campaign in the World Cup of Petroleum Countries. The welterweight (67kg) boxer had some difficulties against his teammate, Gamzatda Rustamov but turned up the heat and knocked out his rival in the second round.
