In the Men’s 51kg weight category, Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Saken BIBOSSINOV (KAZ) dominated his debut bout in the French capital with a commanding 5:0 victory over seed #7 Samet GUMUS of Turkey. Advancing in the brackets, the Kazakh will face Rio 2016 gold medallist and #2 seed Hasanboy DUSMATOV of Uzbekistan. DUSMATOV left no chance to his rival, the 18-year-old Juanma LOPEZ DE JESUS of Puerto Rico, the son of former Olympian boxer Juan Manuel LOPEZ DE JESUS, who competed in Athens 2004 and also lost in the first round at the Olympic Games.
Oleksandr KHYZHNIAK of Ukraine was another incredible winner today as he outclassed Pylyp AKILOV of Hungary. The attacking strategy, along with some incredible punches, worked brilliantly for the Ukrainian—the Tokyo 2020 silver medallist and 2023 European Games gold medallist—as he registered a 4:0 victory. KHYZHNIAK will face the 2023 Pan American Games silver medallist Wanderley DE SOUZA PEREIRA (BRA) in the quarterfinals.
The 20-year-old Turabek KHABIBULLAEV of Uzbekistan had a day to remember as he won his first match at Paris 2024 against Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Eumir Felix MARCIAL (PHI), claiming a sharp 5:0 unanimous decision victory. Coming up next for the Uzbek boxer is Arlen LOPEZ CARDONA (CUB), a two-time Olympic champion, who is searching for his third gold medal at the Olympics, after winning titles in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.
There was an upset in the Women’s 54kg class as 2023 Pan American Games silver medallist Tatiana Regina DE JESUS CHAGAS was surprised by Aeji IM of the Republic of Korea. The battle was intense, with the Korean keeping it under control for most of the bout and sealing a 4:1 win. Advancing in the brackets, she will face the 2023 Pan American Games gold medallist Yeni Marcela ARIAS CASTANEDA, who clinched a 3:2 split decision win after a hard-fought bout against India’s PREETI.
In the Women’s 57kg weight division, there was a big upset for Tokyo 2020 bronze medallist Irma TESTA, who was defeated by Zichun XU of the People’s Republic of China after a close ring battle. The Italian carefully studied her opponent in the first round, maintaining the distance and clinching the round 3:2. In the second round, some blows targeting XU’s face earned the Italian the favor of four out of the five judges. However, the Chinese boxer’s brilliant counterattack in the third round turned the tide in her favor, and she was declared the winner by a 3:2 split decision.
Polish young talent Julia SZEREMETA emerged victorious in a 4:1 split decision from the judges after a pulsating battle against the 2023 Pan American Games bronze medallist Omailyn Carolina ALCALA CEGOVIA of Venezuela.
The boxing competition will resume tomorrow with twenty-eight thrilling bouts spread across three sessions. The first session starts at 11:00, the second at 15:30, and the third at 20:00 (CET). Tomorrow’s matches will include Women’s 60kg, 75kg, and Men’s 57kg and 71kg weight categories.
Find the event schedule and the results here.
