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Posts Tagged ‘National Championships’

In the fight of the night, the tough-as-nails challengers Daniel “The Jet” Zahra, from the Ying Yang and “Super” Steve Martin, from the Wu Shu Ky did not disappoint the crowd and indeed went to war for the vacant Maltese middleweight WKN K1 title belt

By Alex Zammit

The Malta Kick Boxing and K1 National championships which were held on Tuesday the 28^th of June at the Stitch club in San Gwann, Malta, were a huge success. The ‘Gladiators Promoters’ delivered what they promised an exciting fight event which was easily one of the best .in recent years.

The large crowd of spectators and fans vociferously showed their appreciation and support for the event by being proactive all the way, often chanting the name of the fighters. The venue it self was excellent well lit and the organization was smooth and fault less. A truly enjoyable and memorable fight night.

Main Event K1 – Steve Martin vs Daniel Zahra (Middleweight)

Round 1 – Both fighters came out of their corners hard, fast and vicious and engaged directly at close quarters exchanging several low kicks and blows, with the action going back and forth. Martin suffers a cut to the forehead over his right eye.

Round 2 – Martin got the upper hand in the opening minute with two beautifully executed front kicks, which had Zahra down on the canvas momentarily, in this round both fighters landed several kicks and blows but Martin seemed to have the upper hand in this round.

Round 3 – Zahra came out strong with flurries of kicks and punches; Martin picked up the pace and responded. Both fighters showing no fear exchanged blow for blow and kick for kick but neither could quite connect a KO blow with the knee.

The last two rounds added to the drama in great fashion. Zahra continued his incredible assault, while Martin increased his output, himself looking for the knockout. Zahra looked like he was close to getting it when he battered Martin in the last minute of the fifth round.The closing seconds of the last round definitely belonged to Zahra,a well executed round house kick missed Martin by inches and the plucky Martin although being battered on the ropes held on and found the strength to block the onslaught of blows and kicks unleashed by Zahra.

In the end, neither one scored a KO but they still delivered a brutal and thrilling middleweight war, a candidate for the Maltese “K1 Fight of the Year”. It was a close fight and the judges had to decide who would leave the ring with the prestigious local WKN belt. Zahra got the decision but it is without a doubt that both fighters showed true mettle and proved themselves as true warriors in the ring.

Co Main Event – K1 – Renald “Ice Man” Tabone vs Reuben “Wolf” Azzopardi Tabone for the Red Dragon and Azzopardi for the Ying Yang - battled for the Maltese light heavyweight WKN title. This was a three round contest; both fighters came out fighting from a distance and avoided engaging in close combat, both using jabs and high kicks trying to find an opening for a KO blow. The end came for Tabone in the third round when Azzopardi locked him in the corner and delivered a beautifully executed knee strike to the side which send him down to the canvas. Tabone could not regain his feet and referee Demis Sicluna waved it off with one minute to go.

Undercard – Main

MaltaHeavyweight Kickboxing Title – Sean Cutajar (for the Wu Shu Ky) vs Kevin Cassar (for the Ying Yang). The first round opened with heavy punches and some nicely place kicks by Cutajar but the tide soon turned as Cassar upped the pressure and Cutajar startd to absorb some heavy punishment from the faster Cassar. While Cutajar had his moments there was little doubt as to the outcome of this encounter and the judges had no problems in declaring Cassar the winner.

MaltaCruiserweight Kickboxing Title – Tyron Borg (for the Wu Su Ky) vs Nicky Ellul (for the Ying Yang) – A balanced fight in the first two rounds, with Borg showing slightly superior punching power. The tide turned toward the end of round two when it seemed that Ellul had run out of steam. Borg took the title on a points win.

Malta Super Cruiserweight Kickboxing Title Belt – Eman Zammit (from The New Kickboxing Club) vs Elian Mallia (from the Ying Yang) – Both fighter started very aggressive and exchanged flurries of low kicks and punches, round 2 was more of the same, with Mallia showing signs of settling down and edging ahead, round 3 Mallia found his range and started landing better kicks and blows – Mallia became champion on a points win.

Malta Welterweight Kick Boxing Title: Terence Cilia of the Ying Yang defeated a game but outclassed Tyron Muscat of the Wu Shu Ky – Cila came out fast and furious, to his merit Muscat rallied against the onslaught to answer back with some well executed kicks and punches but Cilia showed superior ring skills and the judges gave him victory on points.

Undercard – Non Title – Full Protection Gear.

• Alan Ellul of the Ying Yang defeated Clayton Portelli of the Wu Shu Ky on points.
• Lorna Mifsud of the Wu shy Ky defeated Jessie Davey of the Yin Yang on points
• Andrew Hillsden of the Ying Yang defeated Joseph Fenech of the Wu Shu Ky on Points

The Hillsden vs Fenech fight is worth noting because Hillsden is 50 years of age and he was taking on an opponent half his age. Andrew Hillsden sporting a good physique and a good level of fitness started training kickboxing at the late age of 49 and considering his age his skill level is quite good, his fitness was also tested to the full when the judges ordered two extra rounds of one minute each as they could not decide on a winner.

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39th European Men’s Elite Championships

By AIBA

Forty quarter-final bouts were held in two sessions at the 39th European Men’s Elite Championships in Ankara on Tuesday 21^stJune, with the winners guaranteed a medal. The Italian boxers were excellent during the day, with the country’s boxers securing four medals.

In the light flyweight class Turkey’s favourite Ferhat Pehlivan and Russia’s 22-year-old Belik Galanov may well be the best boxers in the event but they had to fight each other in the quarter-final and it was the Russian who won the contest and advanced to the semi-final, where two teenagers, England’s Charlie Edwards and Azerbaijan’s AIBA Youth World Champion Salman Alizada will also be competing.

Italy’s first great victory was notched up by Olympic Games bronze medalist Vincenzo Picardi, who eliminated Ireland’s new surprise Michael Conlon in their hectic quarter-final battle. In addition to Picardi, three-times European Champion Georgiy Balakshin of Russia, Alexandru Riscan of Moldova and two-time European Championships bronze medalist Andrew Selby of Wales advanced to the semi-finals.

England’s former European Champion Luke Campbell was the main favorite of the bantamweight division but surprisingly he was defeated by Turkey’s Beijing Olympian Furkan Memis Ulas. In the same weight class Russia’s strong National Champion Dmitriy Polyanskiy and Ireland’s AIBA World Championships bronze medalist John Joe Nevin put on one of the best fights of the day but unfortunately only the winner could advance to the semi-final. Polyanskiy was the lucky one and won the contest by a close 13:12.

In the lightweight division Armenia’s former AIBA Cadet World Champion 22-year-old Vladimir Saruhanyan, who fought for Russia until 2009, beat England’s Martin Ward by 22:15 and advanced to the semi-final, where he can expect strong opponents because defending AIBA World Champion Domenico Valentino from Italy, Turkey’s Fatih Keles and Ukraine’s Volodimir Matviychuk are all still in the competition.

Hungary’s Gyula Kate has won at least a bronze medal at every European Championships since 2004 but this year was unexpectedly eliminated by Italy’s Vincenzo Mangiacapre in the light welterweight class. Ireland’s former AIBA Youth World Champion Ray Moylette had a close but victorious contest against Russia’s Maksim Ignatyev, while Azerbaijan’s Haybatulla Hajialiyev and top favorite Thomas Stalker from England also joined Mangiacapre and Moylette.

Welshman, Strandja Memorial Tournament winner and Commonwealth Champion Fred Evans eliminated Russia’s favorite Islam Edisultanov by 16:14 and secured at least a bronze medal in Ankara. In addition to Evans, former European Champion Magomed Nurudinov of Belarus, French surprise Adriani Vastine and Georgia’s Zaal Kvachatadze are still in the welterweight competition.

Ukraine’s 22-year-old Dmitro Mitrofanov shocked the Irish ringside when he defeated their team captain and European Championships silver medalist Darren O’Neill in the middleweight quarter-final. Turkey’s AIBA World Championships bronze medalist Adem Kilicci was too strong for Azerbaijan’s Rahib Baylarov in the same weight division, while Russia’s Maksim Koptyakov and Georgia’s Jaba Khositashvili also advanced to the semi-final.

Croatia’s WSB boxer Hrvoje Sep caused a big surprise when he eliminated France’s AIBA World Championships bronze medalist Abdelkader Bouhenia by 21:15 in the light welterweight division. AIBA Youth World Champion Joe Ward of Ireland, Russian National Champion Nikita Ivanov and Hungary’s EU Champion Imre Szello are also still in the competition in this division.

In Artur Beterbiyev’s, Clemente Russo’s and Oleksandr Usyk’s absence Bulgaria’s Tervel Pulev is the main favorite at heavyweight. Veteran Pulev had a hectic contest against Ukraine’s former European Champion Denis Poyatsika, which finished with one point difference in favor of the Bulgarian fighter. Turkey’s Bahram Muzaffer defeated Slovakia’s Sandro Dirnfeld while Germany’s only medalist, newcomer Johann Witt, triumphed over Belarus’ Sergey Korneyev and will be fighting against Azerbaijan’s 18-year-old Teymur Mammadov for a place in the final.

Italy’s fourth guaranteed medal was secured by Olympic Games winner Roberto Cammarelle who defeated Hungary’s former wrestler Istvan Bernath by a large margin of points in the super heavyweight class, where Georgia’s Mihail Bakhtidze, Russia’s Magomed Omarov and Romania’s World Combat Games silver medalist Mihai Nistor also guaranteed themselves a medal.

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(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – Over 500 athletes, boxers, coaches and officials arrived in Colorado Springs on Sunday in preparation for the 2011 USA Boxing National Championships, June 20-25. The event draw took place on Sunday evening, determining the path each athlete will have to navigate to take home a gold medal, and in the 13 Olympic weight divisions, a highly coveted U.S. Olympic Team Trials berth.

Preliminary action will be contested in eight of the 10 men’s weight classes and all three female Olympic weight divisions on opening day. Monday’s victors will join those who received opening day byes and the less crowded weight classes who will commence preliminary round action on Tuesday.

Several top athletes will showcase their skills in Monday’s action with 2008 Olympian Raynell Williams (Cleveland, Ohio) making his long awaited return to the national championships in an opening bout against Christopher Bell (Little Rock, Ark.). 2010 USA Boxing National Championships bronze medalist Toka Kahn Clary (Providence, R.I.) will join him in lightweight action as well.

Monday’s competition will feature a rematch of the bantamweight championship bouts as defending champion Joseph Diaz, Jr. (El Monte, Calif.) battles silver medalist Ricky Rodriguez (Greeley, Colo.). 2010 USA Boxing National Championships bronze medalist Daquan Arnett (Orlando, Fla.) will take the ring on opening day, facing off with Edgar Alvarado, Jr. (San Bernadino, Calif.).

In women’s action, five-time national champion Marlen Esparza (Houston, Texas) will begin her run toward a sixth straight crown, battling Tiffany Perez (Hammond, Ind.). Her fellow defending champion in an Olympic weight class, lightweight Queen Underwood (Seattle, Wash.) will kick off her 2011 USA Boxing National Championships on Monday as well with a first round contest with Tiara Brown (Lehigh Acres, Fla.).

Monday’s preliminary round action will be contested in two sessions at noon and 6 p.m. at the Colorado Springs Christian School and full results will be disseminated at the completion of each session. The brackets for each of the 20 weight divisions can be found at this link - http://usaboxing.org/news/2011/06/19/2011-usa-boxing-national-championships-brackets/42937.

For the latest news and updates on the USA Boxing National Championships, stay tuned to www.usaboxing.org and follow USA Boxing on Twitter @usaboxing.

USA Boxing, as the national governing body for Olympic-style boxing, is the United States’ member organization of the International Amateur Boxing Association (AIBA) and a member of the United States Olympic Committee (USOC).

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By AIBA

May 19 - 20011

Former AIBA Cadet World Championships bronze medalist 20-year-old Louie Byrd successfully defended his title at the 84th US National Golden Gloves Tournament, which was held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis from 25-30 April.

Multiple US National Champion Louie Byrd won all of his five contests with a large margin of points and celebrated his fourth consecutive US National Golden Gloves Title in Indianapolis at the six-day long competition. Byrd is one of the biggest US boxing hopes for the upcoming major international events such as the AIBA World Championships and Panamerican Games.

In the light flyweight class US National Championships bronze medalist 20-year-old Santos Vasquez claimed second place at the last year’s edition of the event where he was defeated by Louie Byrd. His strong opponent from last year moved up a weight class, giving the Reno-based boxer a better chance of eliminating his rivals in Indianapolis. Vasquez performed well at the tournament and claimed the gold medal after beating Oscar Mojica in the final.

Tremaine Williams went up a weight class from flyweight to bantamweight and eliminated Gary Russell in the quarter-final to take the first gold medal in his career.

Detroit-based Erick De Leon who is being touted as the next Oscar de la Hoya was awarded US citizenship in February and is probably the best US lightweight boxer at the moment. The 19-year-old fighter defended his lightweight throne after beating Luis Cruz in the final and will be looking for a place on the US team this year.

US National Championships silver medalist 18-year-old Michael Reed from the nation’s capital took the light welterweight gold. The teenager defeated George Rincon of Texas by 4:1 in the final.

Unexpectedly US National PAL Championships quarterfinalist Arturo Trujillo secured the welterweight title in Indianapolis after beating the favourite Alex Martin to take the first gold medal in his career.

US National Championships silver medalist 22-year-old Jesse Hart has been boxing since 1995 and his experience showed out against his rivals in Indianapolis in the middleweight class. Defending US National Champion Luis Arias was eliminated by eventual silver medalist teenager Daquan Arnett in the preliminary rounds.

US National Championships bronze medalist 19-year-old Caleb Plant from Knoxville was on the national squad for the friendly encounters against neighbouring Mexico last month. He used his fresh international experiences to good effect to defeat US National PAL Championships silver medalist Jerry Odom in the light heavyweight final.

Strong multiple US National Champion Michael Hunter of Las Vegas competed in the past two AIBA World Championships in Chicago and Milan but did not qualify for the Beijing Olympic Games. Hunter has decided not to turn to professional and moved down a division into heavyweight. The 22-year-old athlete stopped Robert Jekabson in his new weight class final and also picked up the most outstanding boxer trophy.

Multiple US National Champion 22-year-old Lenroy Thompson of Kansas City began boxing only six years ago but has great expectations at international level. Thompson had five contests in the National Golden Gloves and won each of them with points to add another title to his collection.

Photo: US Boxing Team with Evander Holyfield - (Photo Credit: Ashley Gartland)

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Japanese Nationals Stopped Due to Earthquake and Tsunami

By AIBA

March 17 - 2011

The 9th Japanese Women’s Elite National Championships have been stopped and delayed due to the serious earthquake and tsunami which have affected the Japanese islands, including the capital city Tokyo.

The epicentre of the earthquake, which occured on March 11, was near the Oshika Peninsula, approximately 130km off the coast.

The estimates of the Sendai earthquake’s magnitude made it the most powerful in Japan’s history and ranked it among the top five most powerful in the world since modern record-keeping began in 1900.

The 9th Japanese Women’s National Championships started in Kanagawa Prefectural Physical Education Center in Fujisawa one day before the national disaster and the preliminaries were held on March 10.

Altogether 44 female boxers entered to the National Championships where the competitors fought in eight weight classes from 48 up to the Olympic 75kg division. The semifinals were to be held on March 12 and the finals on Sunday March 13.

Japan’s best female boxers competed in the Olympic 51kg weight division, they are Asian Games bronze medalist Aya Shinmoto, two-time World Championships competitor Kumiko Ikehara and Ayako Minowa, who has moved down from bantamweight.

In the Olympic lightweight class Japan’s best boxer 19-year-old Tomoko Kugimiya has the biggest chance of winning the national title. She is the defending champion and competed in the Asian Championships and at the Asian Games last year.

Two talented young boxers also have a good chance of taking gold medals, they are Risa Sugimoto in the lowest weight class and Nana Yoshikawa, who is competing in the 57kg weight class.

In addition to the Japanese Women’s Elite National Championships, the 22nd High School Invitational, the 32nd Businessman Championships and the 1st Children Games have also been cancelled due to the recent catastrophic events.

The Japanese Amateur Boxing Federation announced on March 12 that the remaining bouts, the semifinals and finals, have been re-scheduled for March 26 and 27, but the venue has not determined yet

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