Shakhsuvarly and Khamukov are the stars of the middleweight (75kg) at the Governor Cup
09 May 2019Altogether 31 contests were schedule in the second competition day of the Governor Cup in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Armenian boxers were the heroes of Day1 and their hopes worked well also in the second day of the Governor Cup. The bout of the day was won by Azerbaijan’s Kamran Shakhsuvarly while Russia’s EUBC European Champion Petr Khamukov returned with a success on Day2.
St. Petersburg Boxing Federation is hosting the competition in the historical city where the first edition of the Governor Cup was held still in the era of the Soviet Union. Next to the European nations, Brazil, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also sent boxers to the Governor Cup.
Bout of the day
Armenia’s Kamran Shakhsuvarly claimed bronze at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and at the Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships. He has almost the full collection from the big events as achieved silver in the Kharkiv 2017 EUBC European Confederation Boxing Championships. Azerbaijan’s top middleweight (75kg) boxer had to do his very best to advance to the next stage in the Governor Cup on Day2. He had to meet with Mexico’s Hector Octavio Aguirre who is member of their national team since 2016 and he is one of the most experienced boxers from the Central American country in the international stage. Aguirre was more than a competitive rival but Shakhsuvarly’s motivation decided their narrow fight and Azerbaijan’s No.1 advanced to the quarter-finals.
Surprise of the day
Russia’s Maksim Chernyshev is a well-known boxer in the international stage but he had to face against a favourite rival at the bantamweight (56kg) in St. Petersburg. His rival was Azerbaijan’s Tayfur Aliyev who claimed bronze medal at the Baku 2015 European Games at the age of 18 and became a star in the recent years. Chernyshev analyzed his opponent’s weak points and found the best distance to eliminate his top rival causing a surprise in the Governor Cup.
The Round-Up
Russia’s Artem Potemkin has been attending in the international events since 2013 but he had to box over his limits to beat Mexico’s Yoali Mejia in St. Petersburg. Another strong light flyweight (49kg) boxer Armenia’s Rio 2016 Olympian Artur Hovhannisyan is in top form this year and following his strong silver medal at the Cologne Boxing World Cup, he won his second fight in St. Petersburg. The Armenian boxer was too quick for Russia’s Nikolay Kharanakhoyev and advanced to the semi-finals of the category.
The welterweight (69kg) is a busy category at the Governor Cup where more than 16 boxers are fighting for the title. Russia’s Andrei Kirichenko eliminated Estonia’s Pavel Kamanin on Day1 and he continued his winning path against Scotland’s Stephen Newns in his second bout within two days. The other strong Russians such as Magomed Murtazaliyev, Tamerlan Khangishiev and Sipan Antonyan also advanced to the last eight following their successes in the second competition day.
Russia’s Petr Khamukov achieved gold medal at the 2015 EUBC European Confederation Boxing Championships in Samokov and following his few bouts at the light heavyweight (81kg), the experienced boxer returned to the middleweight (75kg). Khamukov led 20:18 in each scorecard after two rounds against Sweden’s Erik Mendoza and saved his advantages until the end of the bout which was a strong return from the Russian star. His younger teammate EUBC European U22 Champion Aleksey Semykin controlled his fight against Scotland’s Sean Lazzerini in the same category.
Armenia’s Henrik Sargsyan is another well-developed boxer from the Caucasian country who had to do his very best against Estonia’s veteran Ainar Karlson to win their tough heavyweight (91kg) fight in St. Petersburg. Another Caucasian region boxer Azerbaijan’s Rahil Mammadli worked strongly against Moldova’s Andrei Zaplitnii and also advanced to the next stage of the division.
