Nine countries shared the male titles at the 1st Brasov Junior & Youth Open
02 March 2022Following the 16 women’s finals, the 25 male title bouts took place in the first edition of the Brasov Youth & Junior Open in Romania on Day5. The Romanian boxers earned eleven titles in the last competition day but France, Greece, United States, Spain, Hungary, Italy, Scotland and Sweden were among the gold medallist nations too.
The management of the Romanian Boxing Federation including Mr. Vasile Citea, international official Mr. Viorel Sima worked hard for the success of the new international competition. The Technical Delegate of the Brasov Youth & Junior Open was Mr. Henrik Tavio of Finland.
More than 20 countries competed in the first edition of the Brasov Junior & Youth Open from four Confederations, including non-European teams as United States, Cape Verde, Egypt and Bahrain. The number of the participating boxers was impressive number of 220 in the Brasov Open which was preparation event before the main championships such as the upcoming EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships.
The venue of the new international competition was the Polivalenta Hall in Brasov where boxers from the 2004-2005 age groups attended in the youth age group. The younger female and male talents who were born in 2006 and in 2007, competed in the junior competition.
The safety of all participants, the continuous medical checks, the social distancing, the hygienic preparations, wearing masks, the vaccines check and all of the health controls were the responsibility of the local organizers in Romania avoid any new Covid-19 cases during the first edition of the 2022 Brasov Junior & Youth Cup.
The bout of the day
France’s Sandro Spica had confident style of boxing during his road to the final of the Brasov Open but he met with another top talent, Greece’s Georgios Pleas in the last competition day. The French is newcomer in the international stage of boxing but he proved smart and patient style of boxing in Romania. Pleas was not only highly competitive with his quick attacks but Spica had to increase his level in each round. The French was slightly better in the exchanges but he Pleas performed well in Brasov too.
The Round-up
Nicholas Stefan Bonciu who had a tough and narrow battle against Hungary’s Peter Benedek in the final of the pinweight (46kg) took the first junior male gold medal. Daniel Mihai Irofte continued Romania’s successes, he defeated Joshua Muyinda of Sweden in the final of the light flyweight (48kg). Mario Ciprian Iofciu secured Romania’s third-in-a-row junior gold medal after beating Greece’s Konstantinos Sarigiannos in the title bout of the flyweight (50kg).
Greece arrived to the Brasov Open with a strong team and their new junior boxers are strong enough to win key contests. Their Vasileios Topalos controlled all of the three rounds against Romania’s Alex Ovidiu Suvache and claimed the gold medal at the lightweight (60kg). Spain also bagged a title in the last competition day among the junior boxers, their Eugenio Montoya had a crucial semi-final bout and continued his winning path against Cyprus’ Mahmoud Karnaba at the welterweight (66kg).
United States’ Juan Rivera gained the control of the final against Hungary’s Ambor Jarpad immediately and won the light welterweight (63kg) contest with outstanding performance. His compatriot, the US junior No.1, Elijah Lugo is well-known in the European international events, he proved his strength already in 2021. Lugo had a Greek rival in the final of the Brasov Open but he managed to beat Eleftherios Tsevrenidis at the middleweight (75kg).
Italy’s Alessio Camiolo has experiences from the previous international tournaments and the 17-year-old boxer worked hard in his final to beat his Israeli opponent, Farid Hreish. The Italian flyweight (51kg) boxer has done a great finish in the third round and decided their tight final. Scotland’s Aaron Cullen had another narrow contests in Brasov, following his semi-final success, he was able to keep the best fighting distance against Romania’s Ionut Marian Pavel and earned the title of the youth bantamweight (54kg).
Hungary’s Csaba Zsigo is newcomer in their youth national team but he has great technique and the speed to be competitive against more experienced rivals. The 17-year-old Hungarian impressed in the final of the minimumweight (48kg) against Italy’s Simone Maccioni and won his first ever international title. His teammate, the EUBC European Junior Champion Levente Olah dominated his lightweight (60kg) final against Romania’s Florin Luis Camen and won their contests earlier than the end of the second round.
Spain’s Enrique Kakulov joined to their national team less than two years ago but he proved amazing development at the Brasov Youth Open. The Boxam Youth Tournament winner Spaniard controlled his light welterweight (63.5kg) final against Romania’s Alexandru Mitica Boboc and won his next competition. Romania’s Dorulet Tiu eliminated his main rival, Hungary’s Levente Gemes already in the last four of the light middleweight (71kg), and he stopped Greece’s Zacharias Lagoudis in a quick final.
