The silver event of the World Boxing Tour had the semi-finals on the fifth competition day in Maribor. Slovenia. The Silver Belt Series Event has several stars on the board but the Armenians could be the best team in Maribor. Croatian 21-year-old Gabrijel Veocic and Julio Gabriel Albino from Mozambique were the best boxers in the session on Day5.

Slovenia hosted a few international tournaments in recent years, mostly in the towns of Podcetrtek, Maribor and in Slovenske Konjice. The Slovenian Boxing Federation has never hosted such a huge event as the World Boxing Tour, but its management has a strong commitment to the sport. The Slovenians participated in the last editions of the World Boxing Championships with several boxers and a record size of delegation in Belgrade one year ago.

Narek Hovhannisyan eliminated a bronze medallist from Yerevan

Armenian Hovhannes Bachkov won the gold medal at the EUBC European Elite Boxing Championships in Yerevan but he had to miss the WBT Tour due to his professional duties. His replacement, Narek Hovhannisyan had a lot of difficulties in the first round against Hungarian Richard Kovacs who achieved a bronze medal at the continental event. The Hungarian was tactically better, and he looked patient from the first seconds, but Hovhannisyan increased his tempo and turned their light welterweight (63.5kg) bout in Maribor. The young Armenian will meet Bulgarian EUBC European U22 Champion Radoslav Rosenov in the final who bowed out his Ecuadorian rival easily.

Gabrijel Veocic won a key contest in his new weight class

Croatian Lula Pratljacic impressed in the quarter-finals of the WBT Tour and he eliminated a top rival at the super heavyweight (+92kg). His teammate, Gabrijel Veocic is the main Croatian future hope who had several medals in the junior, youth and U22 age groups. Veocic, who follows the instructions of his father, moved up to the light heavyweight (80kg) in the previous months but he had the power and technical skills to beat experienced rivals. Veocic knew his opponent’s weak points, and Gradus Kraus was not able to change his speed after the first round. The 21-year-old Croatian, who reached the quarter-final in the last World Boxing Championships, worked hard until the last gong to win this key contest.

Albino from Mozambique advanced to his next final

Mozambique has an excellent women’s team but their male boxers are growing and increasing their technical skills rapidly. The capital city of the country, Maputo was the host of the recent AFBC African Elite Boxing Championships and Mozambique won the team standings for the very first time. Julio Gabriel Albino won the African title at the cruiserweight (86kg) but he is unknown in the European event, therefore, Michel Erpelding from Luxembourg was chasing for the right tactics from the first minute. Albino looked patient from the first seconds, he used his Cuban style of boxing to eliminate Luxembourg’s No.1 at the cruiserweight (86kg).

Armenia continued its winning path in Maribor

Following Narek Hovhannisyan’s tight and unexpected success, Rafayel Hovhannisyan gave in everything to beat his next rival, Spanish Andy Tamayo in the semi-finals of the men’s cruiserweight (86kg). Rafayel Hovhannisyan defeated top boxers in the junior and youth championships between 2016 and 2019 but he is relatively new in the elite age group. The 21-year-old Armenian was strong and he knew how to handle the tactical issues in the last four against the Spaniard. Hovhannisyan proved his strength against the well-progressed Spaniard and joined the final of the weight class in Maribor. His compatriot, Artur Ghazaryan bowed out his Ecuadorian rival, Jhony Cordoba Velasquez at the lightweight (60kg).

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