Azerbaijani boxer beats Armenian rival

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

Azerbaijani boxer Ali Zamanov (52kg) has defeated Armenian Ruben Garboyan at the 2021 AIBA Youth World Championships in Kielce, Poland. The judo fighter will next face Thai boxer Tanakon Aonyaem on April 15.

The competition is held under the supervision of AIBA, the world's governing body for amateur boxing, and is open to boxers born in 2002 and 2003. It is the third time in the tournament's history that men and women have fought in the same championship.

The 2021 AIBA Youth World Championships brought together 414 boxers from 52 countries. The tournament will finish on April 23. 

Boxing came to Azerbaijan early last century, with the influx of workers, engineers and experts from Russia and Europe to work in the oil industry. By 1924, the union of boxers was founding the first boxing federation and meetings of amateur boxers were underway in Baku.

The national boxers win many prestigious awards and always raise the national flag in the international tournaments.

In 2000, at the Sydney Olympic Games boxer Vugar Alakbarov defeated a series of strong, more experienced opponents, and won a bronze medal, Azerbaijan’s first Olympic medal in boxing.

2003 was another memorable year, as Agasi Mammadov wrote his name into the annals of the country’s boxing history. He became the first Azerbaijani to be awarded the title of world champion. 

Today, younger generation continues successes gained by the sportsmen in recent years and uphold the sporting honor of the country at the Olympic Games.