Austria enjoyed a perfect second day at the European Elite Boxing Championships, with Lucky Aimufua, Emin Yildiz and Fares Derouiche all securing victories during an action-packed programme of 49 bouts across two sessions in Sofia.
Competing at M80kg, Lucky Aimufua opened Austria’s account with a unanimous 5-0 victory over Germany’s Ramil Schaefer.
At M65kg, Emin Yildiz controlled all three rounds against Croatia’s experienced Filip Poturovic to record another unanimous victory for Austria. His teammate and 2025 World Boxing Championships bronze medallist Fares Derouiche completed the perfect day by edging Ukraine’s Matvii Razhba 3-2 at M85kg.
In the morning session, Türkiye’s Gizem Özer opened her W60kg campaign with a commanding victory. The 25-year-old was too experienced for Sweden’s Berevan Hassan, with her powerful punches prompting the referee to stop the contest.
Ireland’s Jude Gallagher, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, made a solid start to his M60kg campaign against Slovakia’s Maksym Bocarov. Gallagher maintained his distance well before increasing the tempo in the second round and going on to secure a unanimous 5-0 victory.
Azerbaijan’s Mahammadali Ashiraliyev also impressed at M60kg. The 20-year-old proved a difficult target for Lithuania’s experienced Edgaras Skurdelis, who began boxing nearly 20 years ago. Ashiraliyev’s energy and movement helped him earn a unanimous 5-0 victory.
In the evening session, Ireland’s Paris 2024 Olympian Dean Clancy faced Germany’s Mohamed Siala in the opening M65kg contest. Clancy started strongly to establish an early advantage and finished with an impressive third round to secure a 3-2 split-decision victory.
Sweden’s Kevin Scott is competing at M75kg as he targets a medal for his country. Scott’s father was an Olympic medallist at Seoul 1988, and the Swedish boxer demonstrated his own potential by defeating Ukraine’s European U23 champion Dzhamal Kuliiev 5-0.
Spain’s Olympian Oier Ibarreche proved a difficult target for Israel’s European quarter-finalist Ahmad Shtiwi in their M65kg Round of 32 contest. The Spanish southpaw moved into range with excellent timing, and his speed made the difference in the opening round. Ibarreche continued to control the exchanges in the second and third rounds to claim a 4-1 victory.
Belgium’s Rasul Tisayev, who won the Brussels Capital Tournament last year, began his M65kg bout against Slovakia’s Juraj Bona with excellent footwork and established an early lead on the scorecards. The 21-year-old maintained that level throughout the contest to earn a unanimous 5-0 victory.
Two sessions will take place at 13:30 and 18:00 local time on Saturday. The schedule, live results and additional event information are available at bul.xboxing.world.
The entire competition will be livestreamed on https://eurovisionsport.com/en.
World Boxing will be posting updates throughout on its social media channels:
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Press release issued by European Boxing Federation and adapted by World Boxing.