Uzbekistan’s star Hasanboy Dusmatov returned with a superb success at the Strandja Memorial Tournament
Another long competition day took place at the 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria on Day4 where the first medallists are revealed. Uzbekistan’s Olympic Games winner and two-time ASBC Asian Champion Hasanboy Dusmatov returned with fantastic performance in Sofia.
The Strandja Memorial is Europe’s oldest international boxing tournament and has a strong brand name therefore high number of stars decided to attend in the event. IBA arranged the money prizes and boxers could earn new world ranking points in the 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament.
Strong Asian teams as India, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are attending at the upcoming Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, which is one of the most exciting competitions in the world. The new 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament is the first from the World Boxing Tour’s Golden Gloves Series and take place between February 18 and 28 in Sofia.
Impressive number of 39 nations registered to attend in the new edition of the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia. The competition will be also a preparation event for the upcoming big goals as the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships and many other continental events.
Nazym Kyzaibay is the first Asian medallist in Sofia
Kazakhstan’s two-times AIBA Women’s World Champion Nazym Kyzaibay had a few poor years but the new light flyweight (50kg) is perfect for her height and physical parameters. The experienced Kazakh girl met with Spain’s Laura Fuertes who eliminated a top Russian boxer, Liubov Sharapova in the preliminary stage. The 28-year-old Kazakh used up all of her 12 years of experiences to control their quarter-final bout in Sofia. Kyzaibay was a hard target for the Spaniard and she landed her counter-punches with the best possible timing in their meeting and became medallist in the Strandja Memorial Tournament.
Kazakhstan’s Dina Zholaman won a difficult quarter-final
As Nazym Kyzaibay, her teammate Dina Zholaman is also AIBA Women’s World Champion, she earned that title in 2016. The 29-year-old Kazakh had an unexpected tough battle against Italy’s Sharon Prisco who is still newcomer in the elite competitions following her youth participations. The Italian landed nice shots in the first round and took the lead on the scorecards against the Kazakh veteran. Zholaman received the right instructions in the corner and she was able to turn back the difficult quarter-final, earning a medal in the 73rd Strandja Memorial Tournament.
Kazakhstan’s Rimma Volosenko dominated her quarter-final
Kazakhstan’s next boxer in action was the ASBC Asian Champion Rimma Volosenko who had a tough opening in the Strandja Memorial Tournament. The 29-year-old Kazakh won almost all of her international contests in the recent two years and she proved much better performance on Day4 in comparison to her first appearance. Volosenko opened the first round against Greece’s Marinela Tsani with strong punches and she produced even better boxing in the second and in the third. Volosenko eliminated the Greek National Champion by large margin of differences and advanced to the last four in Sofia.
Kazakhstan’s Dariga Shakimova won her next contest
Kazakhstan’s next top boxer, Dariga Shakimova was in top form between 2014 and 2016 when she earned most of her medals in the international competitions. The Olympic Games bronze medallist veteran decided to continue her career and moved down to the new welterweight (66kg) which was the perfect decision from her side. The 33-year-old boxer looked fresh and speedy in the first preliminary round and she could still increase her performance in the quarter-final against Algeria’s Ichrak Chaib. Shakimova moved a lot on feet, she had the best rhythm to land her shots giving no chance to the North African boxer.
Uzbekistan’s star Hasanboy Dusmatov returned with a clear success
Uzbekistan’s two-time ASBC Asian Champion Hasanboy Dusmatov was Olympic Games winner in 2016 but in the recent three and half years, he had some difficulties. He turned to professional but returned to the Uzbek national team at the Belgrade 2021 AIBA Men’s Elite World Boxing Championships but he was not enough fast in his preliminary contest against a top Kazakh boxer. Dusmatov trained together with the Uzbek national team so hard and he proved that his impressive technical skills could beat anyone. The 28-year-old Uzbek was too fast for Russia’s Evgeniy Martynov and he controlled all of the three rounds in Sofia.
Uzbekistan’s Saidjamshid Jafarov dominated his contest on Day4
Uzbekistan’s defending ASBC Asian Champion at the men’s middleweight (75kg), Saidjamshid Jafarov is one of the biggest prospects of their team who amazed all of the experts and the crowd with his effective style of boxing. The 22-year-old Uzbek is physically stronger than ever and he proved top quality of boxing against Sweden’s Majd Alsafadi in the fourth competition day. Jafarov dominated all of the three rounds and his tough jabs were dangerous for the Swedish boxer who survived the contest until the last gong.
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