Merzlyakov’s KO and Gadzhimagomedov’s world class performance were the highlights of Day1 at the Cologne Boxing World Cup
11 April 2019The Cologne Boxing World Cup is one of Europe’s big boxing highlights in the month of April which opened with three sessions in Germany. The host nation’s Andrey Merzlyakov delivered the first KO of the event on Day1 when Russia’s Muslim Gadzhimagomedov showed his world class skills.
The German event was previously known as Chemistry Cup and Halle hosted in the recent decades since 1970. It was moved to Cologne this time but several of the top countries will be attending in the re-branded competition.
The following 21 nations are taking part in the Cologne Boxing World Cup: Armenia, Australia, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand and Wales.
Bout of the day
Russia’s super talented Muslim Gadzhimagomedov is EUBC European Youth Champion and EUBC European U22 Champion, furthermore he is their defending National Elite Champion. The Russian will be turning to 22 only later this year but his high pedigree made him confident in the first round against Armenia’s experienced Henrik Sargsyan. The referee counted the Armenian boxer following a powerful Russian jab but Sargsyan was able to continue their preliminary contest and landed also good shots. Gadzhimagomedov proved that he is one of the best heavyweight (91kg) boxers in the whole world and won their contest by large margin of differences.
Surprises of the day
Maya Kleinhans is new in the national team who attended in the last edition of the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships but she was not the favourite against Armenia’s Ani Hovsepyan. The younger Armenian light welterweight (64kg) girl had more experiences in the international stage and she tried to land more punches than her German opponent. Kleinhans was effective in their contest and eliminated her tough Armenian rival which was the first bout of the whole Cologne Boxing World Cup.
Russia’s Ruslan Kolesnikov won two out of the big three as a youth boxer in 2018: the AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and the EUBC European Confederation Youth Boxing Championships, furthermore he claimed silver in the Youth Olympic Games. The Russian boxer moved up to the heavyweight (91kg) and met with Finland’s Krenar Aliu in the preliminary round. The Russian boxer launched punches with perfect timing but Aliu’s strength controlled the first round. Kolesnikov’s ringside abandoned their fight in the beginning of the second round which meant Aliu won their contest which was another surprise in Cologne.
The Round-Up
England’s EUBC European Champion at the bantamweight (56kg) Peter McGrail used his unpredictable footwork against Germany’s Umar Bajwa from the first seconds. The English boxer was in different level than his younger German opponent and marched to the last eight of the Cologne Boxing World Cup. Another strong favourite of the category EUBC European Union Champion Kurt Walker also started confidently in the event and eliminated Armenia’s Erik Petrosyan unanimously.
Denmark’s Frederik Lundgaard Jensen qualified for the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships before his 20thbirthday. The Danish No.1, who claimed bronze medal at the 2018 EUBC European Union Boxing Championships in Valladolid, maintained the best fighting distance well against Poland’s Dominik Palak. The Danish light welterweight (63kg) boxer used his long distance tactic well enough and eliminated his Polish rival in Cologne advancing to the Top8.
Netherlands’ EUBC European Confederation Boxing Championships bronze medallist Enrico La Cruz has done strong performance at the Gee Bee Tournament and continued his tough level in the Cologne Boxing World Cup. The quick Dutch caught Ireland’s James McGivern several times in their fight the light welterweight (63kg) fight and advanced to the last eight. Following La Cruz’s world class performance, Russia’s National Champion Aleksei Mazur worked well against Germany’s Kastriot Sopa.
Russia’s London 2012 Olympic Games bronze medallist Andrey Zamkovoy is a veteran member of their team but he returned in top shape to the international stages once again in 2018. The 32-year-old Russian welterweight (69kg) boxer found his best tempo very quickly in the first minute of his opening contest against Poland’s Lukasz Zygula. Zamkovoy was in different level than his Polish opponent and his tactical skills are still strongly enough to beat almost all boxers in the world.
England’s Galal Yafai and Ireland’s Brendan Irvine both were medallist in the last edition of the EUBC European Confederation Boxing Championships in Kharkiv. The Englishman moved up to the flyweight (52kg) in the recent months and his pressurizing style controlled their contest in Cologne. Following Yafai’s impressive success another tough European boxer Russia’s Vadim Kudriakov proved his talent at the flyweight (52kg) and eliminated Cuba’s Erislan Romero in Cologne.
Germany has got strong potential at the middleweight (75kg) and their two hopes had to meet each other in the first preliminary round. Surprisingly Artur Ohanyan-Beck eliminated his most experienced national rival Silvio Schierle on Day1. The third German boxer of the category Andrey Merzlyakov, who claimed bronze in the last edition in Halle, delivered the first KO of the Cologne Boxing World Cup. The powerful German boxer defeated a lot of his opponents by RSC or KO in the recent two years and he was also too strong for Thailand’s Sakkiti Panyaapiwong.
