Markovic and Orie made surprises in the finals at the 64th Golden Gloves Tournament
20 December 2021The twenty final bouts were on the agenda of the fourth competition day at the 64th edition of the Golden Gloves Tournament in Loznica, Serbia. Serbia’s Aleksa Markovic and England’s Delicious Orie made surprises in the day of the finals but many of the young talents shined also in Loznica.
The Serbian Boxing Federation hosted the AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships between October 24 and November 6 and a top event returned to the country. Powerful nations arrived to the new edition of the Golden Gloves Tournament in Serbia from several Confederations. The competition was launched in the end of the ’50s and saw several big champions in the recent decades. The Technical Delegate of the Golden Gloves Tournament was Mr. Maxim Cherticovtsev of Moldova.
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 Serbia avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the new edition of the Golden Gloves Tournament.
The bout of the day
Timur Galanov achieved bronze medal at the Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships and he has got 12 years of international experiences since 2009. The veteran boxer decided to switch from Russia to Serbia in the recent one year and he is now one of their new heroes. The 32-year-old boxer competed at the bantamweight (54kg) in the Golden Gloves Tournament and met with a fantastic rival in the final, England’s Kiaran MacDonald. The ex-Russian boxer used his energetic attacks against the technician Englishman and celebrated his narrow success after the last gong.
The surprises of the day
Montenegro’s Petar Lijesevic is EUBC European Youth Champion and he claimed silver medal at the Kielce 2021 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. The 19-year-old boxer is Montenegro’s best hope from the last two decades and advanced to the final of the Golden Gloves Tournament in Loznica. Lijesevic met with Serbia’s former WSB boxer Aleksa Markovic who returned to the world of boxing after a short break. The Serbian cruiserweight (86kg) boxer surprisingly worked well enough to win this difficult final in the event.
One of the most experienced national team members in Serbia is Vladan Babic who won several titles in the recent six years. The 30-year-old super heavyweight (+92kg) boxer faced with England’s new young hope, Delicious Orie who joined to the elite national team only a few months ago. The English boxer had less than 40 contests during his career but he has got amazing athletic skills to win international bouts. Orie was quicker than the smaller Serbian veteran and that decided their contest which means the English boy won his first ever international tournament title.
The Round-up
Serbia’s experienced Sandra Maran eliminated her Algerian rival in the semi-finals of the women’s minimumweight (48kg) and she defeated another North African boxer, Fatiha Mansouri in the final of the category. Another top Serbian girl, Tokyo Olympic Games quarter-finalist Nina Radovanovic was still fresh enough in the end of the year to beat Bulgaria’s returning Zlatislava Chukanova in the final of the light flyweight (50kg). The Bulgarian also proved her great potential for the year of 2022 and their contest was one of the best ones in the female part of the Golden Gloves Tournament.
Algeria’s All Africa Games winner Imane Khelif is only 22 but she has got strong experiences and made her debut in the light welterweight (63kg) at the Golden Gloves Tournament. The Algerian used her longer reach well enough to beat Serbia’s Nikolina Gajic and she proved that she progressed in term of strength. Bulgaria’s EUBC European Women’s Champion moved up to the light middleweight (70kg) and she worked hard to beat Serbia’s Aleksandra Rapaic in the final.
Serbia’s EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships bronze medallist Omer Ametovic is only 19-year-old but he had the experience to beat Russia’s Artur Mukhtarov in the final of the flyweight (51kg). Among the youngsters, Bulgaria’s Nikolay Marinov defeated his third rival, Montenegro’s Remzo Ikovic and won the final of the bantamweight (54kg). Another U22 level boxer, Russian Elite National Champion Evgenii Kool dominated the welterweight (67kg) final against Serbia’s Dusan Prica taking the gold medal of the category.
