The last part of the quarter-finals and the first semi-finals took place at the EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships in Erzurum, Turkey on Day6. Greece’s Nearchos Petris Konstanioudis is a second time medallists in the event where Hungary’s Abel Koromi and Bulgaria’s Vladimir Davidov proved strong boxing skills today.
Italy, Armenia, Hungary, Ukraine, Greece, Azerbaijan, England, Romania, Georgia, Ireland, Czech Republic, Poland, Greece, Germany, Turkey and Latvia won medals in the male part of the championships on Day4 and Day5. Scotland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Serbia were the new medallist nations after the last quarter-finals.
Following the EUBC U22 European Boxing Championships, the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships and the EUBC European Men’s Elite Boxing Championships, the next continental event will be held for the schoolboys and schoolgirls.
The competition period of the EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships is August 12-20. Following the rest day, the 29 finals will be held on August 20. The Technical Delegate of the EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships is Mr. Viorel Sima of Romania.
The following 28 nations registered to attend at the EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and Ukraine.
The bout of the day
Nearchos Petros Konstanioudis is one of the most experienced European schoolboys who had more than 10 international contests in the previous one year. The Greek boxer achieved a bronze medal at the 2021 EUBC Schoolboys European Boxing Championships and bagged a gold at the Gheorgheni Open two months ago. He had a fantastic opening contest in Erzurum but the Greek talent had to do his very best in the quarter-final to earn his second medal in the championship. Konstanioudis attacked from the first seconds against Armenia’s Erik Aperyan and he landed multiple shots in the opening round. The Armenian was highly competitive and counter-attacked the small Greek boxer therefore Konstanioudis had to increase his tempo to win the bout of the day.
The Round-Up
Hungary’s Abel Koromi had a fantastic performance in the first preliminary round at the 42kg weight class and he looked highly confident in his important quarter-final bout. The 14-year-old Hungarian took the lead on the judges’ scorecards in the first round against Moldova’s Roman Spac who could not find the best fighting distance. Koromi, who has three years of experiences in the boxing ring, was better in all aspects of boxing and marched to the semi-finals as third Hungarian.
England arrived in the EUBC Schoolboys & Schoolgirls European Boxing Championships with one of the best teams and their boxers shined in the previous competition days. George Ralph knew his Scottish opponent, Aron Sarwar from previous British events and he handled all of the tactical issues in the first round. The English kept the safest fighting distance, dictated the tempo and all of the five judges favoured him after one round. The Scottish boxer was not able to switch his strategy therefore Ralph marched to the semi-finals of the 44kg weight class where he will now meet Azerbaijan’s Subhan Babayev who stopped Georgia’s Tsotne Munchava.
Azerbaijan’s best talents returned to the international boxing stage and the country proved that the fighting spirit is amazing in the Caucasian nation. Baghir Alimkhanli is an excellent boxer despite his young age and he eliminated another gold medal contender in Erzurum, Ukraine’s Ilia Staryk. The Ukrainians are always strong in the schoolboys’ age group but Staryk was not able to land enough shots against the excellent Azeri. Alimkhanli’s next rival in the last four will be Ireland’s James Michael Casey who bowed out Moldova’s newcomer Chirill Slepoi.
Following Yoan Hristov’s success at the 46kg weight class, another Bulgarian shined in the sixth day of boxing. Vladimir Davidov has only a few international contests but he proved smart boxing and excellent tactics in the quarter-final when he met Turkey’s Furkan Avar. His opponent felt the support of the home crowd but Davidov kept the focus and his full concentration until the last bell. The 14-year-old Bulgarian was too strong for the Turkish boxer and technically Davidov had the superiority. England’s Noah Barney-Smith, Ireland’s Christian Alan Doyle and Slovakia’s new sensation, Sebastian Chocholacek were the next medallists in this weight category.
The Greek boxers earned medals in the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships this April but their young prospects proved impressive development in the recent one and half year. Petros Topalos was one of the heroes of the first Gheorgheni Open a few weeks ago therefore he had enough international experience to beat Azerbaijan’s favourite, Kanan Aslanli. Topalos will now meet Ukraine’s No.1 in this age groups, Ivan Bezukhlyi who had a tough battle against England’s Anthony McCarthy.
