Cuban boxers on Sunday dominated on the opening night of semi-finals at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Qatar, with three fighters progressing to the finals.
Light-flyweight (46kg-49kg) Joahnys Argilagos, middleweight (75kg) Arlen Lopez and heavyweight (91kg) Erislandy Savon all breezed through to the finals, with only compatriot light-welterweight Yasniel Toledo Lopez failing.
Lopez and Savon were particularly impressive and are to take some stopping in their finals.
The powerful Lopez brushed aside Egypt’s brave, but well-beaten, Hosam Abdin in possibly the noisiest bout of the night, with both fighters cheered on by a large number of supporters from their own nation in the Ali bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in the capital, Doha.
Abdin’s face was well-marked by the end of the three-round bout, which Lopez took with a unanimous points decision. In the final, he faces Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev, who narrowly defeated Ireland’s Michael O’Reilly in a split points decision.
Melikuziev, the Asian middleweight champion, narrowly took the fight two rounds to one. Savon jabbed and blasted his way to victory against Abdulkadir Abdullayev of Azerbaijan and is to take on Russia’s powerful southpaw Evgeny Tischenko in the final, which promises to be one of the best fights of the 10-day tournament.
Ireland’s busy bantamweight (56kg) Michael Conlan saw off Dmitry Asanau of Belarus with a unanimous points decision.
He is to face Uzbekistan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev in the final, who beat India’s last contestant, Shiva Thapa, on points.
The Indian disputed the decision, saying he thought he was “the clear winner.”
Another powerful performance came from Uzbekistan’s Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, who beat the No. 2 seed Wuttichai Masuk at light-welterweight (64kg).
Filipino Rogen Ladon, who had defeated world No. 2 Joselito Velazquez of Mexico earlier in the tournament, found the semi-finals to be one fight too far, losing to Russia’s Vasili Egorov in the first bout of the night in the light-flyweight division.
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