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Meinl, Schachidov and Tiafack were the heroes of Day2 at the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem

Twenty-four quarter-final contests featured in the second competition day at the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in the Czech Republic. The winners joined to the last four and all of them are guaranteed medallists in the strong Grand Prix event. Austria’s Marcel Meinl delivered the main sensation of the day but Germany’s stars as Magomed Schachidov and Nelvie Tiafack were impressed too.

The Grand Prix Usti nad Labem is a traditional boxing event which holds for the elite male boxers this year. The Grand Prix is one of the last preparation competitions before the start of the EUBC European Men’s Elite Boxing Championships which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia next month. The Technical Delegate of the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem is Mr. Viorel Sima of Romania.

Altogether 91 male boxers are attending in the new edition of the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem including countries from Ukraine, Germany, Brazil, Morocco, England, Armenia, Bulgaria, Wales, Poland, Hungary, Finland, Greece, host Czech Republic, Norway, Austria and Luxembourg.

The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, the vaccines check, wearing masks and all of the health controls are the responsibility of the local organizers in Serbia to avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the Belgrade Winner Tournament. 

The bout of the day

Germany’s Magomed Schachidov joined to the elite national team in 2018 following his excellent performance in the national league series, called Bundesliga. The experienced boxer moved up to the new light middleweight (71kg) and regained his place in the national team. Schachidov is a strong puncher and he proved his physical skills against Morocco’s Zine El Abidine Amroug who bagged several medals in the recent five years. The North African was not an ideal opponent in the second day of boxing but their final-level contest delighted the home crowd. The German was able to keep his same level until the last bell and won their tight challenge in Usti nad Labem.

The surprise of the day

Bulgaria’s William Cholov won several gold medals as junior and youth boxer in the EUBC European Boxing Championships and he is one of their top future hopes. He joined to the elite age group this January and arrived to the Grand Prix to increase his experiences against Europe’s bests. The 19-year-old Bulgarian faced with Austria’s Marcel Meinl in the last eight of the middleweight (75kg) in Usti nad Labem and Cholov was the favourite of their contest. Meinl is older and he used the best strategy against the tall Bulgarian which delivered for him an unexpected success advancing to the semi-finals.

The Round-up

Finland’s Arslan Khataev has eight years of international experiences and he is aiming for a medal in the upcoming EUBC European Men’s Elite Boxing Championships. The Finnish lightweight (60kg) boxer was quarter-finalist in the Belgrade 2021 AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships and he opened his campaign in the quarter-finals in Usti nad Labem. Khataev felt the tempo from the first round well enough against Czech Republic’s Ivan Pavlyuk and he has done hard job through the three rounds to win this contest.

One of the favourites of the lightweight (60kg), Germany’s Murat Yildirim was quarter-finalist in the AIBA World Boxing Championships as Khataev but five years ago in Hamburg. The German returned to the national team in excellent conditions and his experiences paid off in the recent international competitions. Yildirim proved strong performance in the quarter-finals against Hungary’s Roland Veres who returned after an injury and operation. The Hungarian boxer’s hand is not 100% yet but he enjoyed his comeback despite of his narrow loss.

Four quarter-finals were held at the light welterweight (63.5kg) in the second competition day and all of them were decided by split decision, 3:2 on the judges’ scorecards. England’s Joseph Tyers had a great success on Day1 but he had a technician opponent, Germany’s David Gevorgian as next. The English boxer reduced the fighting distance successfully a few times to earn a guaranteed medal in Usti nad Labem. Greece’s Konstantinos Kalogeris, Morocco’s Tokyo Olympian Abdelhaq Nadir and Germany’s Mert Caliskan are the further semi-finalists in the Grand Prix.

The super heavyweight (+92kg) is one of the strongest categories in the Grand Prix where four crucial quarter-finals were on the program of Day2. Following his revenge against Austria’s EUBC European U22 Champion Ahmed Hagag, Germany’s Nikita Putilov bowed out of his way his second opponent in Usti nad Labem. The 19-year-old German eliminated Hungary’s AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Levente Kiss with top performance. Brazil’s Olympic Games bronze medallist Abner Junior Teixeira, Finland’s Antti Lehmusvirpi and Germany’s Nelvie Tiafack are the further semi-finalists.