Europe’s excellent traditional boxing event, the Bocskai Memorial Tournament celebrated its 59th edition recently in Debrecen, Hungary.

Croatia, hosts Hungary and Mongolia all secured three gold medals in the tournament, where home favourite Roland Galos, Mongolia’s Enkhjargal Iderkhuu and England’s promising hope Joshua Buatsi delivered the best performances in the event.

Athlete of the tournament
Hungary’s super talented boxer Roland Galos won the gold medal at the 2013 EUBC European Youth Continental Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.

Following serious hand injuries, he returned to action in the Hungarian National Championships last December where he defeated two-time Olympian Miklos Varga in the gold medal bout.
The Lightweight class (60 kg) boxer is only 19-years-old, but could be a surprise success before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Galos achived a world class level of performance in the quarter-final stage of this competition against Mongolia’s defending Asian Games winner Dorjnyambuu Otgondalai in a bout which ended with the Asian boxer suffering an eye injury.

The home favourite had to meet with Ukraine’s teenager Timur Belyak in the final, who was fighting out of his country for the very first time.

Galos opened the bout in virtuoso style, and excelled throughout the contest despite both fighters tiring in the last round.

The final verdict of the bout was a split decision win for Galos who claimed a marvelous gold medal.

Team of the tournament
Eight Hungarian boxers advanced to the final of the Bocskai Memorial Tournament, where among them three were able to win gold medals on home soil.

Besides Galos, two-time Olympian Miklos Varga and AIBA European Olympic Qualifiers bronze medallist Istvan Bernath both reached the summit of victory.

Surprise of the tournament
England’s Harvey Horn is a new face at the international level, and the 19-year-old followed his Youth National title success by securing his career highlight in the Bocskai Memorial Tournament.

The English boxer defeated Hungary’s EUBC European Continental Championships bronze medallist Istvan Ungvari, China’s AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Li Jiazhao and Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganerdene in the gold medal bout.

One to watch
Joshua Buatsi lives and trains in London, England and represented England in theis tournament.

He met with Hungary’s experienced Norbert Harcsa in the final of the Light Heavyweight class (81 kg), and though the Hungarian boxer started better, in the final round Buatsi’s uppercut and quick right jab stopped Harcsa’s attacks sharply, as he displayed all facets of boxing en route to victory.

Stat/fact of the tournament
140 boxers competed in this event, a near record for the Bocskai Memorial Tournament.

The two top Hungarian boxers, Balazs Bacskai and Zoltan Harcsa could not attend due to injury, but the host nation’s new wave was strong enough to replace them in Debrecen.

Croatia’s delegation claimed three gold medals, while Azerbaijan also took two top positions despite their top athletes fighting in APB and in the World Series of Boxing.

Quote of the tournament
“I had a very hard task in the final against my Ukrainian rival who was also motivated and had great condition. My tactic is based on continuous movements and footwork with fighting from long distance. I did not have enough time to warm up before the final which was the first bout on the fourth competition day, but I am satisfied with my first gold medal in an elite international tournament. I hope I will have a lot of strong opponents in 2015 to improve my boxing knowledge,” said Hungary’s 19-year-old Roland Galos after the finals.

List of the winners in Debrecen
49 kg: Harvey Horn, England
52 kg: Masud Yusifzada, Azerbaijan
56 kg: Enkhjargal Iderkhuu, Mongolia
60 kg, Group A: Roland Galos, Hungary
60 kg, Group B: Miklos Varga, Hungary
64 kg, Group A: Battarsukh Chinzorig, Mongolia
64 kg, Group B: Maksat Zheksenbi, Kazakhstan
69 kg, Group A: Byamba Tuvshinbat, Mongolia
69 kg, Group B: Mate Rudan, Croatia
75 kg: Khaybula Musalov, Azerbaijan
81 kg, Group A: Damir Plantic, Croatia
81 kg, Group B: Joshua Buatsi, England
91 kg: Josip Bepo Filipi, Croatia
+91 kg: Istvan Bernath, Hungary

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