(FEB 23) Here on WBAN we have
brought you news of Team USA and also of the British and Irish
squads for Strandja and we will be keeping you informed of news
from the women’s bouts ‘as and when’ we receive it.
Team U.S.A. Boxing will update us on the American team’s
performances and as reported here on WBAN (21 Feb), five of USA
Boxing’s elite women traveled across the globe last Wednesday
for the 66th annual Strandja International Boxing Tournament,
February 24-28, in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Flyweight Virginia Fuchs (Kemah, Texas), bantamweight Christina
Cruz (New York, N.Y.), lightweight Mikaela Mayer (Los Angeles,
Calif.), light welterweight Rashida Ellis (Lynn, Mass.), and
middleweight Tika Hemingway (Pittsburgh, Pa.) will all compete
in the first international tournament of the year for Team USA’s
female boxers.
The 1st Strandja Memorial was held in 1950 when host nation
boxers won all of the titles on offer.
Strandja encouragingly has five women’s weights yet the Olympic
in 2016 still only three. Ours is not to reason why though one
possibility is to ensure adequate practice in anticipation of
the European Olympic Committee’s (EOC)/EUBC promoted
inaugural European Games in Baku June 16/27
So how does the AIBA’s communication team rate this year’s
women's events in Strandja?
This is their take on the 2015 Strandja Memorial tournament:
“China’s three-time AIBA Women's World Champion and London 2012
Olympic Games silver medallist Ren Cancan returns to the world
of boxing in this tournament, where 250 men’s and women’s boxers
from 37 nations are registered to compete.
The Tension and the Drama:
Kazakhstan’s Nazym Kyzaybay, Bulgaria’s Stanimira Petrova and
Panama’s new sensation Atheyna Bylon all won gold medals at the
8th AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Jeju, Korea last
November, and following those excellent performances they will
be in action in Sofia.
The key question is, can these boxers continue their dominance
across their weight categories?
Also, the home Bulgaria boxers are able to compete at a high
level in front of their supportive home fans.
The most anticipated battle in the event:
A mouth-watering clash could take place between Panama’s Atheyna
Bylon and Canada’s three-time AIBA Women’s World Champion Mary
Spencer.
Bylon shocked the world in the last edition of the AIBA Women’s
World Championships, but this time she will be fighting at the
Olympic Middleweight class (75 kg) in Sofia.
Spencer is a highly decorated champion in her own right, and
their styles would gel well if they were to fight.
Ones to watch in the event:
China’s three-time AIBA Women’s World Champion and London 2012
Olympic Games silver medallist Ren Cancan has been a member of
their national team since 2007, and recently decided to return
to the world of boxing.
The 27-year-old has received the right to prove she is still a
world class athlete in the Flyweight class (51 kg) which is an
official category of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as well.
Her main rivals will be Bulgaria’s EUBC European Women’s
Continental Champion Stoyka Petrova and Kazakhstan’s Nazym
Kyzaybay in Sofia.
Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev won the gold medal at the 2014
AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and at the Nanjing 2014
Youth Olympic Games.
Following those youth successes, he has turned to the elite
level, and claimed the gold medal in the Uzbek National
Championships some weeks ago.
The 19-year-old Middleweight class (75 kg) boxer could be a star
in 2015 and his first step will be the Strandja Memorial
Tournament where he can fight against top opponents.
Facts of the Strandja Memorial Tournament:
Altogether, 250 boxers are registered to take part in Sofia,
where 174 male athletes from 32 countries and 76 women from 26
nations have entered.
The total number of the participating countries is 37 according
to the official entry list which would be a record in the
history of the event, if all take part.
Sofia will be also hosting the upcoming EUBC European
Confederation Continental Championships in August following
their excellent organization in recent years.
The tournament has scheduled five women’s and ten men weight
classes, and China, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Uzbekistan
will be representing the Asian region in the Strandja Memorial
Tournament while Brazil, Canada, Dominica, Panama and United
States of America will be there in the event from the American
continent, and Seychelles represent Africa.
History of the event:
The first edition of the Strandja Memorial Tournament was held
in Sofia in 1950 when all of the winners were boxers from the
host nation.
Further Bulgarian cities such as Yambol, Plovdiv, Pleven,
Pazardjik and Gabrovo also hosted the Strandja Memorial
Tournament over the past two decades but the event returned to
Sofia in 2012.
In the last edition of the event, Bulgaria, China, Ecuador,
England, Netherlands, Russia, Turkey, Uzbekistan and Wales won
the gold medals in Sofia.
Titleholders of the event:
Women’s 51 kg: Stoyka Petrova, Bulgaria
Women’s 60 kg: Denitsa Eliseeva, Bulgaria
Women’s 75 kg: Maxine Koelemeij, Netherlands