All of the youth finals were held in the fifth and last competition day at the Moldavian Belt Tournament in Iasi. The Hungarians amazed in the final day of boxing, five of their youth boxers won their contest by large margin of differences.
Iasi is a university city in Eastern Romania near to the boarder of Moldova and it has the population of more than 300,000. The Moldavian Belt Tournament was an international competition for the elite women, elite men and youth men boxers in Iasi. The Technical Delegate of the Moldavian Belt Tournament was Mr. Dragoljub Radovic of Montenegro.
The competition was a preparation for the youth boxers on their road to the IBA Youth World Boxing Championships which will be held in La Nucia-Benidorm, Spain on November 13-27. The venue of the Moldavian Belt Tournament was the Polivalenta Hall in the city of Iasi and the IBA Scoring System and Technical Rules used during the competition.
The bout of the day
Romania’s Alexandru Marian Buleu is one of the top boxers in the youth age group who won the Brasov Open this February. The 18-year-old Constanta-based boxer defeated Hungary’s Milan Petriman in that final six months ago. Since then, the Hungarian won the ISF Gymnasiade in France and their welterweight (67kg) final was the most difficult contest of the fifth competition day. The Romanian boxer knew his Hungarian rival well enough to land shots from his best distance but Petriman worked better this time than in February. Buleu gave in everything and his efforts were enough to win the tightest final of the last competition day.
The Round-Up
Romania’s Mihai Madalin Bancescu had a compatriot rival, Liviu Ionut Bou which was important between them on the road to the IBA Youth World Boxing Championships. Bancescu is more experienced in the international stage than Bou and his speed paid off in the first youth final of the tournament. Israel’s 18-year-old Sofian El-Okby won the next gold medal, he walked over to the title of the flyweight (51kg), following Moldova’s Dumitru Vieru was unable to box in the last competition day.
Ionut Marian Pavel won the next category, the bantamweight (54kg), earning for Romania’s second youth title in Iasi. One of the most anticipated contests were held between two Romanians at the featherweight (57kg), Ionut Chiriac and Paul Tudor Tudoroiu. The latter had a tough semi-final on Day4 and he looked more tired than Chiriac in this important selection contest. Chiriac landed the better shots in the second part of their final and won the bout by unanimous decision which means that he is near to get the right to participate in the IBA Youth World Boxing Championships.
Hungary’s Levente Olah made a perfect year in 2021, he won all of his contests and competitions, including the EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia. The Hungarian talent joined the youth age group this January and he won the Brasov Open in February. After half year of break, he returned to Romania and defeated all of his rivals at the lightweight (60kg) by large margin of differences. Romania’s Luis Camen was competitive for the 17-year Hungarian only for one round, and then Olah’s body shots and multiple combinations were decisive.
Hungary’s Levente Gemes achieved a bronze medal at the 2021 EUBC Junior European Boxing Championships in Tbilisi and the 17-year-old Hungarian has a bright future. The light middleweight (71kg) boxer worked hard in the previous one year to increase his technical and tactical skills. His strength was decisive in many of his contests in 2022 and Gemes spent short time in the ring once again. The Hungarian boxer’s jabs reached the target several times and shocked Romania’s Ninel Flaugiu and the referee stopped their contest in the second round.
The next Hungarian finalist was Oleksandr Khoma who began his boxing career in Ukraine before switching to his new nation. The 18-year-old middleweight (75kg) boxer had a unique bout against a Ukrainian boxer in the previous stage of the Moldavian Belt Tournament and he looked still fresh in the final against Romania’s Stefan Dorin Aschiopoaei. The referee stopped their final in the third round and confirmed Khoma’s RSC triumph and gold medal. The next Hungarian gold medal was achieved by Milan Kiss, a 17-year-old talent, who choose the right tactics against Romania’s Paul Strugariu at the cruiserweight (86kg).
