Athletes from Tunisia achieved a perfect series of results on Day 3 in Casablanca
Twenty-two quarter-final contests were held on the third competition day of the AFBC African Confederation Boxing Championships, where the winners from the Light Flyweight (49 kg), Bantamweight (56 kg), Welterweight (69 kg), Middleweight (75 kg), Light Heavyweight (81 kg) and Super Heavyweight (+91 kg) matches achieved a guaranteed medal in Casablanca, Morocco.
Bouts of the day
Morocco’s WSB star Mohammed Rabii needed only 53 seconds to stop Sudan’s Musa Salih Abuzar, while his Super Heavyweight compatriot Mohammed Arjaoui also finished Gabon’s Davy-Wilfrid Bouroubou Mouagui in the opening round of their bout.
Team of the day
Athletes from Tunisia achieved a perfect series of results on Day 3, beginning with a Bantamweight triumph for Bilel M’Hamdi over Angola’s Pedro Manuel Gomes.
Doha International Tournament winner Mohamed Amine Meskini then continued his winning run with a strong victory against Uganda’s Nasser Mutabali Bukenya.
Tunisia’s third triumph on Day 3 was delivered by London 2012 Olympian Yahya Elmekachari, who became the first boxer in Casablanca to eliminate a Moroccan athlete following his close win over Ayoub Daari.
Surprise of the day
Morocco’s Hassan Saada had never competed in a major event prior to the beginning of the AFBC African Confederation Boxing Championships, yet continued his dream run by outperforming Ugandan veteran Kennedy Katende.
The 22-year-old Saada used his height advantage to great effect against the Beijing 2008 Olympian, and his excellent stamina allowed consistent control of the match.
Saada’s victory sets up a fascinating Light Heavyweight semi-final against Algeria’s Abdelhafid Benchabla.
The Round-Up
Uganda’s APB boxer and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Fazil Juma Kaggwa had to perform at his very best against Gabon’s Marcus Edou Ngoua to advance to the semi-final of the Light Flyweight division.
Egypt’s Beijing 2008 Olympic Games quarter-finalist Hossam Hussein Bakr Abdin looked back to his best against the highly rated Algerian Middleweight Ilyas Abbadi.
Fact of the day
After the first stage of the quarter-finals,, the following nations have earned guaranteed medals:
- Morocco: 5 medals
- Algeria, Botswana, Egypt, Tunisia, Uganda: 3 medals
- Ghana: 2 medals
- Seychelles, Togo: 1 medal
Quote of the day
“It was a hard fight because I could not follow my game plan. My opponent moved his head a lot, so I tried several left hooks but not all of them reached the target. My target is the same, the gold medal, and nothing has changed due to this bout. I fought in AIBA Pro Boxing, so therefore I am not tired after three rounds,” said Uganda’s Fazil Juma Kaggwa.
Tomorrow’s program
The second stage of the quarter-finals will take place tomorrow, with sixteen bouts featuring the Flyweight (52 kg), Lightweight (60 kg), Light Welterweight (64 kg) and Heavyweight (91 kg) weight divisions.
