Monaco’s Hugo Micallef won the bout of the day in the first session of the Boxam Tournament
07 October 2020The first competition day of the 34th edition of the Boxam Elite International Boxing Tournament finished in Castellon de la Plana where eleven bouts were held in Session1. Monaco’s Hugo Micallef won the bout of the first competition day, beating United States’ AIBA Youth World Champion Delante Johnson in a fantastic battle.
Altogether 25 women and 43 men boxers are attending in the new edition of the Boxam Tournament in Castellon de la Plana. The strong US team, Italy, France, Wales, and Spain are the top nations in the Boxam Tournament but Peru, Puerto Rico and Mali also sent boxers to the competition. The Technical Delegate of the Boxam Tournament is Mrs. Susanne Karrlander of Sweden while EUBC Competition Manager Mr. Dmitriy Gaistruk is also in the venue of the prestigious competition.
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 Spain to avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the Boxam Elite International Boxing Tournament. The Chairman of the EUBC Medical Commission Mr. Ioannis Filippatos of Greece is in the venue to check all safety instructions.
The bout of the day
United States’ AIBA Youth World Champion Delante Johnson had to meet with Monaco’s No.1 Hugo Micallef in the opening day at the men’s welterweight (69kg) which was the most anticipated fight of Session1. Johnson is the most experienced US male boxer in their squad who has got five years of experiences in the international stage. Monaco’s lone boxer in the national team Hugo Micallef tried to use the best tactic against the US No.1 and moved more on feet in their outstanding bout. The final verdict was split decision in the favour of Micallef who eliminated the gold medal favourite in Castellon de la Plana.
The surprise of the day
Italy’s 22-year-old Gianluigi Malanga attended in the Yekaterinburg 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships and he has been preparing to the upcoming EUBC European U22 Boxing Championships. The Italian welterweight (69kg) boxer was far more experienced than Wales’ Ioan Croft who joined from the youth age group this January. The Welshman impressed in their fight and proved strong developments in comparison to his youth performance and bowed out Malanga on Day1.
The Round-Up
Spain’s Maria Gonzalez won her debuting contest at the European Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event and she is still in the competition in London. The Spanish flyweight (51kg) boxer tried to keep the distance against Serbia’s attacking Nina Radovanovic who moved forward without any stoppage. Gonzalez used her longer hands and eliminated the Serbian boxer who reached the Top8 at the 2019 EUBC European Women’s Boxing Championships and returned to Spain after one year of break.
Spain’s EUBC European Boxing Championships bronze medallist José Quiles has already qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games through the European Olympic Boxing Qualifying Event. The 23-year-old featherweight (57kg) boxer uses the Boxam Tournament as preparation for the Games but he had to do his very best already in the first round against his teammate Angel Seda. Quiles was quicker than his younger fellow and won their contest by split decision but Seda proved strong developments in all terms of boxing.
Simone Spada won the gold medal at the lightweight (60kg) in the 2019 Italian Elite National Championships at the age of 19 and spent less than three minutes in the ring against EUBC boxer Farid Walizadeh who trains and lives in Portugal. The Italian talent landed powerful punches and the Spanish referee confirmed his RSC success. Another Italian boxer in this weight class, Giuseppe Canonico had a hectic battle against Billy Unsworth but the younger Welshman won their contest by 3:2.
