Finland’s Ismail Umar and Belgium’s Mohamed Walid Bourkha delivered two of the standout victories on day four of the European Elite Boxing Championships in Sofia, while the women’s +80kg quarter finals confirmed four medallists.
Hungary’s Zsofia Szira secured her place on the podium with a 5:0 unanimous decision over Armenia’s Ani Muradyan. The Hungarian controlled the contest to advance to the women’s +80kg semi-finals and guarantee at least a bronze medal.
Russia’s Kseniia Olifirenko also secured a medal, defeating Moldova’s Daria Sazonova by a 5:0 unanimous decision.
Poland’s Olympian Elzbieta Wojcik joined them in the semi-finals after a commanding performance against Ireland’s Cliona D’Arcy. The Polish boxer impressed throughout their three-round contest to earn a 5:0 unanimous victory.
Türkiye’s Havvanur Kethuda completed the semi-final line-up by stopping Ukraine’s Mariia Lovchynska in the second round.
In the men’s 65kg division, Finland’s Ismail Umar overcame Russia’s Rasul Magomedov to reach the quarter-finals. Magomedov made the stronger start, but Umar responded in the second round before producing a determined finish to secure a 4:0 points victory, with one judge scoring the bout level.
Belgium’s Mohamed Walid Bourkha produced a dramatic comeback against Croatia’s Luka Pratljacic in the men’s +90kg division. The Croatian led on the scorecards after two rounds, but Bourkha turned the contest around with his powerful punching in the third. The referee stopped the bout one minute and 37 seconds into the final round, sending the Belgian into the quarter-finals.
France’s Hugo Grau also advanced after defeating Ireland’s Olympian Dean Clancy in an eagerly anticipated men’s 65kg contest. The Frenchman’s effective boxing earned him a 5:0 unanimous decision and a place in the last eight.
The earlier session brought disappointment for the home crowd as Czechia’s Lenka Bernardova defeated Bulgaria’s Venelina Poptoleva in the women’s 54kg division. Poptoleva started strongly, but Bernardova responded in the second round and edged the contest by a 3:2 split decision.
Serbia’s Milena Matovic delivered another notable victory, overcoming France’s Maelys Richol in the women’s 70kg division. Richol sought to use her longer reach to keep the Serbian at distance, but Matovic’s aggressive approach proved effective as she secured a 5:0 unanimous decision.
Italy’s Sirine Charaabi progressed to the women’s 54kg quarter-finals with a 5:0 unanimous victory over Portugal’s Sofia Resende. The Italian controlled the centre of the ring in the opening round and maintained her advantage despite a spirited response from her opponent.
Russia’s Anastasiia Kool made a decisive start in the same division, stopping Armenia’s Lusya Avetisyan in the first round. Serbia’s Sara Cirkovic also advanced with an accomplished technical performance, defeating Ukraine’s Inna Statkevych by a 5:0 unanimous decision.
Türkiye’s Olympic silver medallist Buse Naz Cakiroglu opened her campaign at 54kg with a second-round stoppage of Azerbaijan’s Zeynab Rahimova.
Finland’s Paris Olympic quarter-finalist Pihla Kaivo-Oja also reached the last eight at 54kg, defeating Poland’s Wiktoria Rogalinska by a 5:0 unanimous decision. Following a competitive opening round, the Finnish boxer maintained her momentum through the second and third rounds to secure victory.
In the men’s 90kg division, England’s Isaac Okoh advanced with a 5:0 unanimous win over Poland’s Alexey Sevostyanov. The English boxer remained focused throughout a competitive contest to book his quarter-final place.
Germany’s Kevin Lebowski joined him in the last eight, defeating Azerbaijan’s Rauf Rahimov by a 4:1 split decision.
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.
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Press release issued by European Boxing Federation and adapted by World Boxing.