Forty-three bouts took the IFMA world championships into the quarter final stages today on the seventh day of competition.

Today’s fights were B-class senior men, female juniors and male juniors with some boxers earning at least a bronze medal when winning quarter-final bouts. Temperatures were dropping during the day, going down to 6 celsius at one point. Many of the boxers were warming up in tracksuits and hats, unusual weather for summer but after a few rounds on the pads no-one seemed too much in danger of freezing!
Australia’s Britney Dolheguy kicked off the junior women’s bouts against Anastasia Runets of Belarus in flying style using head-kicks to great effect. Anastasia battled back in the 3rd with left-right punch combinations but was unable to block a knee to the body giving Britney a TKO victory.

Ines Pilutti (France) took on Sanni Nurminen from Finland also in the junior womens with a solid display of leg-kicks from both fighters.

The junior men’s (age 16 to 17) saw 13 bouts altogether with 12 countries including Algeria, Estonia and Peru.

250516 Ax kick Turkey vs anon
In the senior men’s Vietnam’s Tran Nguyen defeated Jaffar Al-Qashaamai from Sweden in a tight contest over the the three round. The Vietnamese fighter pressed forward very strongly in the second round, using his teep-kick to good effect, in spite of Al-Qashaamai’s best efforts at defence.

But possibly the biggest battle of the day took place between Yiderim Oguz, Turkey and Kazakhstan’s Zhanibek Kanatbayev at 67kgs. This fast-paced fight swing between the two boxers, with each throwing elbows furiously in the second round especially. Both threw spinning back-elbows in an effort to catch the judges’ eye with the win finally going on points to Turkey.

250516 Mexico white towel waving
For the 12th fight in this ring Sweden’s Otabek Ergashev marched under his country’s flag to the ring for his 75kg fight. His opponent Yongkang Zhang from China fought a good battle but got a wound to his face in the 2nd roun and on doctor’s advice he retired leaving Sweden to claim the win.

The fight between Kazakhstasn and Vietnam at 48kgs certainly got the referee working with a lot of in-close clinch work, and neither Kazakhstan’s Nurbolaatkozha Omar nor his opponent Duc Le Hoang willing to break free.

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