Two new medals for Bulgaria from the European Boxing Championship

Ergunal Sebakhtin and Javier Ibanez secured two new medals for Bulgarian boxing from the European Championship in Belgrade, which brought the total number of awards for our country to eight.

In the lowest men’s category – that of 48 kilograms, Sebakhtin defeated Hasan Malikov of Azerbaijan in the quarter-finals by unanimous decision and is one victory away from a second consecutive appearance in the final of the European Championship.

In the semifinals, the young Bulgarian national, who until recently was recovering from hand surgery, will box with the Russian Edmond Khudoyan.

Immediately after him, Javier Ibanez also found a place among the best four in the category up to 57 kilograms. Last year’s European Games champion in Krakow knocked out Danil Okoman of Moldova in the second round.

The Cuban-born Ibanez knocked down his opponent twice in just the last 30 seconds of the second round, prompting the ringside referee to stop the fight early.

For a place in the final, Ibanez, who already has a quota for the Olympic Games, will argue with the Frenchman Samuel Kistoyuri. The two already have a match against each other in Belgrade. It was in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2021, when the judges awarded a very controversial success with a 3:2 vote to the representative of the “roosters”.

By the end of the day, Jasen Radev (54 kilograms), Radoslav Rosenov (60 kilograms) and Rami Keuan (75 kilograms) will also enter the ring in the Serbian capital.