Spetterende finaledag op EBC in Eindhoven

30 mei 2023

Een geslaagde finaledag met spetterende partijen, gisteren tijden de Eindhoven Box Cup. Er werden maar liefst 24 finales gebokst tussen boksers uit verschillende landen. Ook waren er een aantal Nederlanders die het stuk voor stuk opnamen tegen sterke tegenstanders. Hoe dit is afgelopen lees je in onderstaand verslag (Engels).

The Eindhoven Box Cup had 24 final contests in the last third competition day in the heart of the North Brabant region in the Netherlands.

The Women’s World Boxing Championships Chelsey Heijnen of the Netherlands won the Best Female Boxer Trophy while the Best Male Boxer was Pavlo Iliusha of Ukraine in this 6th edition of the Eindhoven Box Cup. Germany’s Denis Bril became the best talent of the Eindhoven Box Cup while the new local hero, Mahmoud Al Chabtoun was named as the Best Dutch Boxer of the tournament.

A junior contest was held before the start of the official program which was won by a Belgian talent, Alpay Gul over the local Alex Scholte. The local organizers divided the boxers into groups in several weight categories due to the high number of participants

The competition venue was the 4-stars Hotel Van der Valk Eindhoven and during the finals only one ring has been used. The new Eindhoven Box Cup was a preparation event for several boxers on their road to the European Games.

Fryers and Paiva won the first finals

Ireland’s Caitlin Fryers was silver medallist in the last European Women’s Boxing Championships and she arrived to Eindhoven as the main favourite of the light flyweight (50kg). The 23-year-old Irish is a small boxer but this time she had an opponent from Norway, Francine Lukungu Ahadi with the same height. Fryers has chosen longer distance tactics in this final which was the first in the Eindhoven Box Cup and she had the skills to win this contest. Among the male boxers, a 20-year-old Irish, Clepson Antonio Paiva earned the first title following his tight success over Germany’s Christopher Goman.

Bos, Al Chabtoun and Heijnen earned gold medals for the hosts

Netherlands’ Finn Bos is a new face in the international stage of boxing but he became the first local winner in the Eindhoven Box Cup where he triumphed over an English boxer, Joshua Soloye. Netherlands’ No.1 in this competition is Chelsey Heijnen, the bronze finisher in the 2022 Women’s World Boxing Championships. The 23-year-old boxer is seriously strong at the lightweight (60kg) and her physical condition was the difference between her and Ireland’s Zara Breslin today. Heijnen delighted the home crowd and she landed her tough jabs whenever she wanted in the third round. Mahmoud Al Chabtoun was one of the main surprises of the day, he defeated Ukraine’s Youth World Championships bronze medallist Ruslan Tsykalo at the men’s lightweight (60kg).

Denis Bril was the teenage star of the finals

Germany’s Denis Bril competed among the youth boxers in 2022 and he quickly joined the elite tournament in the earlier months of the year. The 19-year-old German impressed in the first and second days of boxing in Eindhoven and he overcame England’s Jawad Ilyas in the attacks. The German youngster, who was supported from his brother Artur Bril and Lukas Wilaschek from the ringside, controlled all of the three rounds and he won a tactical battle at the featherweight (57kg).

Sara Svensson defeated a 20-years-younger rival

Sweden’s Sara Svensson is a 39-year-old veteran but she has still the strong motivation to qualify for their European Games’ squad. Her opponent was the 20-years-younger German, Asya Ari, the 2022 European Youth Champion, but Svensson did not underestimate her rival and moved forward from the first seconds. The German tried to be smarter in the exchanges but she received a few tough shots in the first and second rounds. Svensson had still the power in the last round to win the final of the women’s featherweight (57kg) against a super talented German.

Mueller and Holgersson won the next female finals

Germany’s Leonie Mueller earned the title of the 2021 Cologne Boxing World Cup which was a huge breakthrough in her career. The 24-year-old German welterweight (66kg) boxer used her long hands to keep the best fighting range against Belgium’s Laora Capizzi and she succeeded in Eindhoven. Sweden’s Love Holgersson had a quick success in the semi-finals and the 30-year-old boxer enjoyed her comeback after a break. The Swedish No.1 had a similar tall opponent, Germany’s Corinna Krusche but she had the strength and routine to win their final bout.

Farshid Sourmanshahi won his first big title

Farshid Sourmanshahi, the competitor of the 2022 European U22 Championships, was the next local boxer who advanced to the finals of the Eindhoven Box Cup. The 22-year-old welterweight (67kg) talent caught his Belgian opponent, Matapit Njoya with heavy shots in the middle of the first round and the referee counted the neighbouring boxer. Sourmanshahi is a brave Dutch boxer, and his pressure made Nyoja to do mistakes in the first and second rounds. Sourmanshahi was able to keep the same level until the last gong and kept the title on home soil.

Ukrainian moments in the evening session of the finals

Ukraine’s Ratmir Turchaninov was too experienced for Germany’s Kushtrim Mahmuti and he bagged the gold medal in the Group A at the light middleweight (71kg). His teammate, Yaroslav Mykhalushko was the favourite for the gold medal in the Group B and he accomplished that mission against Iceland’s lone finalist, Emin Kadri Eminsson. Pavlo Iliusha continued their winning path at the middleweight (75kg), he controlled his final against Ireland’s promising Gavin Rafferty. Bogdan Tolmachov also succeeded in the second part of the finals, he defeated Belgium’s Idris Leganase at the cruiserweight (86kg).