European Championships Archives - Page 2 of 2

Aryan Saed Panah at the European Boxing Championships day one. — Credit European Boxing Federation

The European Boxing Championships got underway in Sofia on Thursday, September 17, with morning and evening sessions opening nine days of competition.

The first day of competition included a win for Aryan Saed Panah from the World Boxing Refugee Team, while France’s Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Billal Bennama made a winning return. The evening session brought a series of close contests at men’s 70kg.

Aryan Saed Panah, who trains in Spain, is representing the World Boxing Refugee Team at 90kg after moving up a weight class this year. Despite giving away size to Croatia’s Petar Leskur, he controlled much of the contest and used his power to good effect. Saed Panah claimed a 4:1 split decision to open the Refugee Team’s campaign with a victory.

France’s Billal Bennama, an Olympic silver medallist and European champion, returned to the national team this year with his sights set on Los Angeles 2028. Competing at 55kg, the 28-year-old started strongly against Georgia’s Gor Ayvazyan and used his longer range to secure the win.

Seven women’s 65kg bouts took place on the opening day. Croatia’s Sara Beram began well against Bulgaria’s Valeria Andreeva, who is new to the host nation’s elite team. The 31-year-old Croatian timed her advances to close the distance and took the lead on the judges’ scorecards after the first round.

Armenia’s Elida Kocharyan, who achieved strong results at junior and youth level, used her height advantage against Spain’s Mariana Soto Torres. She worked hard through the first two rounds to earn the victory.

Denmark’s Caroline Lauenborg, who impressed at the Golden Girl Box Cup in Sweden earlier this year, recovered from a slow start against Greece’s Despoina Makri. Behind after the first round, she judged the distance more effectively in the second and third to turn the bout around.

England’s Abdul-Rahman Burton stepped into the national team’s 55kg place for this event. The European U23 silver medallist started strongly against World Boxing Refugee Team boxer Omid Ahmadisafa, with the southpaw taking an early lead on the scorecards before securing victory.

Italy’s Tommaso Sciacca delivered a strong technical performance to defeat Sweden’s Paris Olympian Nebil Ibrahim at men’s 55kg.

Between the two sessions, the championships were officially opened at a ceremony attended by World Boxing President Gennadiy Golovkin. The opening brought together representatives of European Boxing and the Bulgarian Boxing Federation, alongside Bulgaria’s Minister of Youth and Sports and other boxing officials.

In the evening session, Spain’s Frank Martínez Bernad, Greece’s Zacharias Mylonas, Serbia’s Filip Dzida and Hungary’s Kalman Hanko all advanced from closely contested bouts.

European U22 silver medallist Frank Martínez Bernad faced England’s Patrick Hewitt at 70kg. The pair approached the opening round cautiously, but the pace rose in the second. Martínez Bernad found success with well-timed single punches as the bout developed.

Greece’s Zacharias Mylonas used his height to keep Albania’s Alban Beqiri at range for much of their contest. His approach paid off as he earned the win.

Moldova’s Vasile Cebotari looked to land his right hand against Serbia’s Filip Dzida. The Serbian defended well and responded with quick uppercuts and hooks when he closed the distance. He remained difficult to hit in the third round and advanced.

Hungary’s Kalman Hanko returned to international competition after several years away, having won his national championships two months ago. His bout with Romania’s Daniel Adrian Grigorie remained close throughout, with the third round proving decisive. Hanko edged a 3:2 split decision and dedicated the victory to his newborn daughter.

Two sessions will take place at 13:30 and 18:00 (CET) on Friday. The schedule, live results and additional event information can be found at https://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:

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/officialworldboxing

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/OfficialWorldBoxing

X – https://x.com/RealWorldBoxing

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/world-boxing

Press release issued by European Boxing Federation and adapted by World Boxing.

Rami Kiwan v Callum Makin at the 2026 World Boxing Championships in Liverpool.

More than 400 boxers, representing 40 National Federations, are confirmed to compete at the European Elite Boxing Championships 2026, with action taking place from 17–25September in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The event is being held at the Asics Arena Sports Hall and bouts will be contested across twenty weight divisions, ten for both men and women, with World Boxing ranking points on offer.

Hosts Bulgaria will be represented by 16 boxers, including reigning European champion and World Boxing Championships silver medallist Rami Kiwan (M75kg), five‑time StrandjaCup winner Radoslav Rosenov (M60kg), and Olympic bronze medallist Javier Ibáñez(M55Kg).

After a two‑year break, World and four‑time European champion Stanimira Petrova(W57kg) will return to the ring and be joined by multiple European medallist ZlatislavaChukanova (W51kg).

A number of top names are set to attend, with Ireland sending current world champion Aoife O’Rourke (W75kg) and two-time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington (W60kg), while Poland’s team will be spearheaded by world champion Agata Kaczmarska (W75kg) and Olympic silver medallist Julia Szeremeta (W57kg) all participating in the women’s competition.

On the men’s side, World Boxing Athletes Committee member and World Boxing Championships silver medallist, Yojerlin Cesar (M80kg) will represent France, with England sending Commonwealth Games gold medallists Damar Thomas (M90kg+) and Isaac Okoh (M90kg).

The full list of competing nations is Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, World Boxing Refugee Team, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.

The competition marks one of the most significant events on the European boxing calendar and serve as a key milestone on the pathway to major international competitions, including the World Boxing Championships 2027 and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

President of European Boxing, Lars Brovil, said: “This very first edition of European Boxing Elite Championship 2026 is an extraordinary milestone for the European Boxing community, under the umbrella of World Boxing, in our work and commitment to secure a continued road forward to keep boxing within the Olympic movement and family after LA28.

“On behalf of the entire European Boxing community, I’m proud of what we have achievedwithin less than in a year and a half, creating European Boxing Championships for all age categories and now finally we are ready for the European Boxing Elite Championship for female and male.”