Jordan, Netherlands and South Korea teams progress on Day Two of the 2017 AIBA World Championships in Hamburg
August 26th, 2017 / IBA
Saturday saw 48 nations share the ring across 39 bouts on Day Two of the 2017 AIBA World Championships in Hamburg. With the Uzbekistan team making a successful first foray and the likes of Australia, Italy and Mexico among the countries progressing athletes into the second preliminary round, the pursuit of the World titles hasn’t been short on excitement after the opening four sessions.
THREE ROUNDS FROM DAY TWO
ROUND ONE: Torres leading Mexico’s rebuild
Light Heavyweight Rogelio Torres made a successful start to his World Championship debut on Saturday afternoon against Venezuela’s Albert Ramirez, and at just 22-years-old, he remains the most experienced member of the Mexican national team as it rebuilds for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Cycle. Ramirez had defeated Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz during WSB Season VII, making Torres’ win further proof that he can be the man to build that team around.
ROUND TWO: Alexandros Tsanikidis the comeback kid
Greek Welterweight Alexandros Tsanikidis was forced to take a step away from elite competition when a back issue kept him out of the ring having made the step up from a successful Youth career. Tsanikidis missed the Rio 2016 qualifying path, but made no mistake in Kharkiv, ensuring his place in Hamburg where he got his campaign off to a winning start against Puerto Rica’s Bryan Ojeda.
ROUND THREE: South Koreans in control
South Korea brought in new coach Bolat Niyazymbetov in March to help with the team’s technical development, and the Kazakh 1996 Olympic Light Welterweight medallist looks to have had an immediate impact. Saturday’s evening session saw wins for Inkyu Kim (52kg) and Hyeon Kim Do (+91kg), as Asia’s smaller boxing nations found success on Day Two.
DAY TWO – recap
Germany’s Hamza Touba and Spaniard Gabriel Escobar got the second day of the 2017 World Championships off to a flying start with three breathless rounds of Flyweight (52kg) action that saw both boxers freeing up their hands in pursuit of the spectacular finish, before Escobar emerged the unanimous winner over the number eight seed.
Experienced Dutch Lightweight (60kg) Enrico Lacruz then proved too powerful for USA’s 2016 Youth World Champion Delante Johnson in Ring A, while Ring B saw a gripping contest play out as Georgia’s Otar Eranosyan narrowly overcame the Kazakh National Champion Adilet Kurmetov to prove his podium potential in the category.
At the start of the evening session, Flyweight (52kg) Jasurbek Latipov became the first member of the Uzbekistan team to get a taste of the World Championship action, producing a steady performance to secure victory over Puerto Rico’s Yankiel Rivera. England’s Niall Farrell was able to rely on his long reach to pick off the nimble and relentless advances of Moroccan Abdelali Daraa and he progresses to a Monday evening match-up with Colombia’s Ceiber Avila.
Armenian Karen Tonakanyan earned a hard-fought victory over Australia’s Harry Garside in the evening’s first Lightweight (60kg) bout, and the Mongolian Welterweight (69kg) Tushinbat Byamba dominated Damian Kiwior of Poland, repeatedly unleashing powerful combinations across the three rounds. The Indian team’s strong start to the competition also continued, with Manoj Kumar defeating Moldova’s Vasilii Belous.
A sensational Light Heavyweight (81kg) competition looks in store after Georgia’s Iago Kiziria edged past Scotland’s Sean Lazzerini in a pulsating bout, before the Jordanian Zeyad Eashash showed exactly why he was awarded a Wildcard place in Hamburg with an inspired win over Australia’s Andrew Hunt. Hunt’s teammate Joe Goodall then dominated Egypt’s Uosry Rezk across three rounds, using his big, accurate uppercuts to secure victory, and Azeri Super Heavyweight (+91kg) Mahammadrasul Majidov overcame India’s Satish Kumar in the last bout of the day.
For all the results from Day Two CLICK HERE
