Russia, France, Kazakhstan and Hungary are the best nations in the Bocskai Memorial Tournament where Belarus’ Dzmitry Asanau named as the Best Boxer
08 February 2020The 13 final contests were taking place in the fifth and last competition day of the 64th edition of the Bocskai Memorial Tournament in Debrecen. Among the top nations, the Russians, the Kazakhs and the French boxers became the bests but the host Hungarians also claimed one gold medal in Debrecen. The Best Boxer of the 64th Bocskai Memorial Tournament was awarded by Belarus’ European Games winner Dzmitry Asanau.
The following nations are taking part in the 64th Bocskai Memorial Tournament: Austria, Belarus, Botswana, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Norway, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales. Four out of the five Confederations sent boxers to the traditional event which launched in 1956 which makes it one of the oldest European tournaments.
Bout of the day
Turkey’s defending AIBA Women’s World Champion Busenaz Surmeneli eliminated her main rival Russia’s Saadat Dalgatova in the semi-finals of the Bocskai Memorial Tournament. The 21-year-old Turkish star moved more on feet in the first round than her tough opponent, Finland’s Sofia 2018 EUBC European Women’s Champion Elina Gustafsson. Surmeneli was famous of her aggressive attacks but in the opening minutes she was also smarter than the Finnish boxer. The Turkish welterweight (69kg) boxer started the second round with an impressive hook but Gustafsson also tried to reduce the fighting distance with energetic attacks. Surmeneli was enough fresh to land jabs in the last round and won the exciting and anticipated final.
Surprise of the day
France’s Mourad Aliev and Croatia’s Marko Milun both achieved medals in the last edition of the European Games in Minsk. The French super heavyweight (+91kg) boxer was more aggressive than in the recent competitions and surprised the Croatian in the first round. Aliev, who has got strong Russian roots, landed tough hooks in the opening round and he looked motivated against the strong Croatian but Milun returned to the final in time. Both boxers used their athletic skills in that exciting final which was won by Croatia’s tall Marko Milun in Debrecen.
The Round-up
Gazimagomed Jalidov was born in Russia but since 2019 he represents Spain in the international competitions. The Liventsev Memorial Tournament winner Spanish boxer tried to use his longer reach against England’s George Crotty who is a 26-year-old experienced boxer. The English light heavyweight (81kg) hope is member of the Navy’s Royal Marines and he has done the 32-week-long commando training successfully. The Tammer Tournament winner English southpaw received several punches from the Spanish side in the third round but his first and second periods were enough to win the first title of the Bocskai Memorial Tournament.
Belarus’ Dzmitry Asanau claimed gold medal at the Minsk 2019 European Games and moved up to the new lightweight (63kg) in the recent half year. The Belarusian star eliminated top boxers on the road to the finals and met with Hungary’s Richard Kovacs in the final. Asanau moved ahead more in the final in comparison to his previous contests in the Bocskai Memorial Tournament. Both boxers landed punches in the first round and increased their tempo from the second which made their bout to a spectacular one. Kovacs produced his best performance in the finals but Asanau was smarter today in a remarkable final.
Hungary’s former EUBC European Youth Champion Roland Galos won the gold medal in the Bocskai Memorial Tournament two years ago but since then he moved down to the bantamweight (57kg). The 24-year-old Hungarian, who trains with his coach father Tamas Galos, eliminated Botswana’s George Molwantwa and India’s 2016 AIBA Youth World Champion Sachin Siwach Singh during his road to the finals. Galos met for the gold medal with France’s Samuel Kistohurry who was the titleholder of the Bocskai Memorial Tournament. Both boxers wanted to land high number of punches in their honest bout and the crowd could see a classic in-fighting contest which delivered a gold medal for Hungary.
Russia’s two-time AIBA Women’s World Champion Zenfira Magomedalieva is also a double European Champion who bowed out her main rival Turkey’s veteran Sennur Demir in the semi-finals of the women’s middleweight (75kg). The Russian and her Hungarian opponent Timea Nagy both were born in 1988 and had dozens of hard contests during their long career. The Dagestan-based Russian landed heavy right and left-handed jabs in the first round but Nagy adopted the rhythm of their final in the second. The experienced Russian was quicker than her Hungarian opponent in the third therefore she deserved to win their final bout in Debrecen.
Russia’s Svetlana Soluianova was gold medallist in the Sofia 2018 EUBC European Boxing Championships and returned to the top national team with a gold medal in the Bocskai Memorial Tournament. The 25-year-old Russian used her longer reach well against India’s AIBA Women’s Youth World Champion Jyoti Gulia and succeeded in the prestigious tournament in Hungary. Her teammate AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships silver medallist Liudmilla Vorontsova was slightly better than India’s Manisha Moun and achieved Russia’s next success in Debrecen.
France’s Victor Yoka is Rio 2016 Olympic Games winner Tony’s younger brother who fought for his place to their top team in the Bocskai Memorial Tournament which was a selection event between him and Moreno Fendero. The 22-year-old French middleweight (75kg) boxer eliminated Georgia’s Giorgi Kharabadze in the semi-finals and he continued his winning path against Ireland’s AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships bronze medallist 20-year-old Gabriel Dossen which was the last final of the event.
