Enrico La Cruz impresses at the 2015 Chemistry Cup

July 30th, 2015 / All

The 2015 edition of the Chemistry Cup was recently held in Halle, Germany where many strong European and Asian nations entertained throughout the distinguished event.

Athlete of the tournament

Netherlands’ Tammer Tournament winner Enrico La Cruz is one of the most promising European Lightweight (60 kg) boxers, and the 22-year-old pupil of Hennie Van Bemmel added another gold medal to his collection in Halle.

La Cruz faced Uzbekistan’s 2009 AIBA Junior World Boxing Championships bronze medalist Burgut Hodjiboyev in the final of the event, and produced a disciplined and tactical performance to claim the ultimate triumph.

Team of the tournament

Uzbekistan topped the team rankings in the Chemistry Cup in Halle, beginning with a gold medal for Summer Universiade winner Hasanboy Dusmatov in the men’s Light Flyweight (49 kg) division.

The 22-year-old Uzbek controlled his final against Mongolia’s Gankhuyag Ganerdene from the opening seconds, and continued his dominance until the final bell had rung.

Uzbek National Championships silver medallist Abrorjon Kodirov eliminated Germany’s former AIBA World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Ronny Beblik in a great semi-final, and continued his excellent form with a victory over France’s Elie Konki in the Flyweight (52 kg) final.

Two-time National Champion Bakhodir Jalolov is one of the most promising Super Heavyweight (+91 kg) boxers in the entire world, and following recent tournament titles in Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Azerbaijan, he conquered Germany as well.

The 21-year-old beat Germany’s AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Florian Schulz in the quarter-finals, and stopped Germany’s Maximilian Keller in the gold medal bout.

Uzbekistan had two further silver medalists in Germany while they achieved a brace of bronze medals as well.

Surprises of the tournament

Germany’s Raman Sharafa began boxing very late in his life, but took home a brilliant gold in his home tournament at Bantamweight (56 kg).

The veteran athlete defeated a wealth of excellent opponents in Germany, including Russia’s Alibek Bakhtiyorov, France’s Anthony Bret and finally Uzbekistan’s AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships silver medallist Murodjon Akhmadaliyev.

Netherlands’ Gee Bee Tournament winner Max Van der Pas also surprised many in Halle, as he eliminated tough Mongolian, German and Austrian boxers on the road to the Middleweight (75 kg) final.

The 22-year-old then defeated France’s European Union Champion Christian Mbilli Assomo in the gold medal bout, which was a surprise as his opponent had only suffered one previous loss over the past 18 months.

The Round-Up

Mongolia’s World Military Champion Battarsukh Chinzorig is a great Light Welterweight (64 kg) boxer who was too strong for all of his rivals, including Denmark’s new sensation Enoch Mwandila.

His veteran teammate Byamba Tuvshinbat also secured a gold medal in the Chemistry Cup where he defeated the host nation’s Abbas Baraou at Welterweight (69 kg).

Germany’s National Championships silver medallist Leon Bunn received the right to box in the Chemistry Cup for the very first time, and the Light Heavyweight (81 kg) boxer sensationally stopped Switzerland’s Uke Smajli in their entertaining final.

Fact of the tournament

Uzbekistan, Germany and Mongolia all performed well in the Chemistry Cup, while Netherlands won two gold medals despite the absence of EUBC European Continental Championships silver medallist Peter Mullenberg.

Quotes of the tournament

“It was a hard tournament with good boxers from Europe and Asia. My final Uzbek opponent was clever and strong. He was boxed from the longer distance, so therefore I had to keep him in front of me. My strength is good now and I wanted to win the tournament which was a good experience before the EUBC European Continental Championships. A quota for Rio 2016 is my goal as the last Dutch boxer who could fight in an Olympic Games was Orhan Delibas in 1992,” commented Netherlands’ Enrico La Cruz.

“It was a very good tournament and I was so excited to box against Mongolian, German and French opponents. It was a hard tournament with an excellent final for me. I saw my French opponent in his semi-final, and I knew he was very strong so we decided to change our tactics in the gold medal bout. We thought the best way to box against Mbilli Assomo was to combine punches with my movement, and it worked well in Halle,” said Netherlands’ second gold medallist Max Van der Pas.

Gold medal winners in the Chemistry Cup