Japan’s AIBA Youth World Champion Hayato Tsutsumi ruled the bantamweight at the Beket Makhmutov Youth Tournament

The first edition of the Beket Makhmutov International Youth Tournament was held in Oral, Kazakhstan where the host country, Japan and Uzbekistan delivered the best performances. Japan’s defending AIBA Youth World Champion and ASBC Asian Youth Champion Hayato Tsutsumi was excellent in the competition and won the title of the bantamweight (56kg).
Mr. Beket Makhmutov was the President of the Asian Boxing Federation in the early years of the new Millennium and he is a well-known official in the boxing world. The Beket Makhmutov Youth Tournament was a strong preparation event for the upcoming 2017 ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships which will be held in Bangkok, Thailand in the beginning of July.
The Japanese youth team travelled to Kazakhstan to raise their experiences and among their five boxers three advanced to the finals in the Beket Makhmutov Youth Tournament. Powerful countries such as Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia also attended in the competition with talented young hopes.
The first gold medal of the Beket Makhmutov Youth Tournament was achieved by Kazakhstan’s Children of Asia Games winner Nursultan Nuriddinov who was able to control the first two rounds against Japan’s Akubo Tatsuya. The 17-year-old Japanese boxer returned with top performance in the third round but his efforts were not enough to turn back their final bout. The winner of the light flyweight (49kg) Nuriddinov could be Kazakhstan’s great hope also in the 2017 ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships.
Japan’s ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships silver medallist Ryutaro Nakagaki attended in a training camp in Incheon, South Korea before his trip to Kazakhstan and his current skills were enough to win the title of the flyweight (52kg).The 17-year-old Japanese talent had great fighting spirit against Kazakhstan’s Ruslan Saudan in the final in Oral where the decision was split to Nakagaki.
Japan’s defending AIBA Youth World Champion and ASBC Asian Youth Champion Hayato Tsutsumi was the biggest name in the Beket Makhmutov Youth Cup and he proved amazing performance in the competition. The 17-year-old Japanese boxer moved up to the bantamweight (56kg) and he was able to stop all of his rivals before walking over for the gold medal against Kazakhstan’s Bakhtiyar Smagulov.
Kazakhstan’s Ali Esenov had enough experiences in the final of the lightweight (60kg) against Kyrgyzstan’s Aibek Sultanbayev to solve his gold medal bout tactically. He had strong performance in the first two rounds while his Kyrgyz opponent was able to re-new his power in the third but finally Esenov’s hand was raised.
Kazakhstan’s third gold medal was delivered by Ali Akadilov who outscored Mangystau region’s Akzhol Abdikhan in the final of the light welterweight (64kg). The sixth gold medal of the Beket Makhmutov Youth Tournament was achieved by Kazakhstan’s Atyrau-based Nurken Nurimov who was too strong for his teammate Ayan Kabidollayev in the final of the welterweight (69kg). Kabidollayev’s ringside abandoned the unequal contest in the third round but his silver medal is his career highlight.
Kazakhstan’s Pavlodar-based Baurzhan Baygonshekov had to do his very best against Aktau’s Bekdaulet Bulatbay to win the final of the middleweight (75kg). Kazakhstan’s Daulet Esenov trains in Karagandy and shocked all of his rivals in the Beket Makhmutov Youth Tournament in Oral where he was too strong for Uzbekistan’s Timur Ergashev in the gold medal bout od the light heavyweight (81kg).
Uzbekistan’s top heavyweight (91kg) youth boxer Jamshid Makhamadaliyev had to do his very best to win his final against Kyrgyzstan’s Ilyas Niyazov who joined to the national youth squad this January. Uzbekistan’s second gold medal was achieved by Lazizbek Mullajanov who knocked down Russia’s Dmitriy Kulik in the first round of their super heavyweight (+91kg) final and the referee stopped their contest.

Winners in the Beket Makhmutov Youth Tournament
49kg: Nursultan Nuriddinov, Kazakhstan
52kg: Ryutaro Nakagaki, Japan
56kg: Hayato Tsutsumi, Japan
60kg: Ali Esenov, Kazakhstan
64kg: Ali Akadilov, Kazakhstan
69kg: Nurken Nurimov, Kazakhstan
75kg: Baurzhan Baygonshekov, Kazakhstan
81kg: Daulet Esenov, Kazakhstan
91kg: Jamshid Makhamadaliyev, Uzbekistan
+91kg: Lazizbek Mullajanov, Uzbekistan