In the Men’s 63.5 kg weight category, the afternoon session ignited with a fiery match between Jesus COVA of Venezuela and ROBERT EUSEBIU JITARU of Romania, both asserting dominance to secure commanding 5:0 victories. Moments later, the attention shifted on the Italian Gianluigi MALANGA who failed to progress to the next round, succumbing to a narrow 3:2 split decision loss in his round-of-64 against JOSE MANUEL VIAFARA FORY (COL). The bout witnessed a relentless exchange of impressive punches in the hard-fought first round, with the Colombian securing a razor-thin lead. The Colombian’s advantage extended into the second round, despite the Italian’s spirited counterattack. Despite a valiant effort in the third round, the Italian fell short of clinching victory.
Advancing in the tournament, Mark Ashley FAJARDO (PHI) delivered a spectacular performance, overpowering Albertino MONTEIRO (POR) with a devastating KO win in round 3. It was a challenging day for Guatemala’s EDGAR GARCIA, who succumbed to the relentless assault of his Ugandan contender, Joshua TUKAMUHEBWA, forcing the referee to intervene in round 3 and awarding victory to TUKAMUHEBWA.
Salvador FLORES LUQUE (ESP) secured victory through a hard-fought 4:1 split decision, while Alexandru PARASCHIV (MDA) displayed dominance in a 5:0 unanimous decision win. The judges faced a tough decision in the battle between YURI FALCAO (BRA) and the 2023 Pan American Games bronze medalist Alexy Miguel DE LA CRUZ BAEZ (DOM), ultimately awarding victory to FALCAO with a narrow 4-1 split decision.
MIRZOKHID IMAMNAZAROV (KGZ) left no room for doubt in his match against MICHAEL ABIOLA from Nigeria, as the referee halted the contest in the second round after just 42 seconds, declaring IMAMNAZAROV the victor.
In the Men’s 71 kg weight category, Jordan’s Tokyo 2020 Olympian ZEYAD EASHASH unleashed a barrage of powerful blows on SHOKHOBZHON SHUKUROV (TJK), securing a hard-fought 4:1 victory. ASADKHUJA MUYDINKHUJAEV (KGZ), the 2023 World Championships gold medalist, lived up to expectations, showcasing his exceptional boxing skills and determination to outclass Algeria’s YAICHE YOUCEF ISLAM with a resounding unanimous 5:0 decision victory. Later in the afternoon, one of the youngest boxing champions in Ukraine and with most impressive accolades in the team, the Ukrainian boxing prodigy Yurii ZAKHARIEIEV dashed the hopes of Slovenia’s Dejan LEBURIC with a dominant 5:0 victory, earning a perfect scorecard from all judges.
Syrgak ABDYZHAPAR UULU (KGZ), Petar Kresimir KNEZEVIC (CRO), MAGOMED ELIM SULTANOVIC SCHACHIDOV (GER), Alexander RANGEL (COL), Ronald Jr. CHAVEZ (PHI), ZHAO MENGYANG (CHN), Jorge CUELLAR (CUB), Bayramdurdy NURMUHAMMEDOV (TKM), Virgilio Edua DE LOS SANTOS DELGADO (DOM), ASLANBEK SHYMBERGENOV (KAZ), Damian DURKACZ (POL) all won their respective match, moving on to the Round of 32 phase to be held on 7 March.
For all results and draw sheets of the day, visit: https://boxing.athlete365.org/boxing-road-to-paris-2024/1st-world-qualification-tournament (scroll down to the “downloadable resources” section).
Further updates on the Boxing Road to Paris 1st World Qualification Tournament will follow after the evening session, starting at 20:00.
