Best of the Asians of the Year 2015
The Best of the Asians of the Year 2015 are revealed
At the fourth times in the history of the Asian Boxing Confederation the Best of the Asians are revealed before the end of the year of 2015. Ten different affiliated Asian national federations claimed at least one title in this award.
The Asian Boxing Confederation awarded the best of the Asians of the Year 2015 trophies continuing the first celebrations which was launched in 2012. The first historical trophies were awarded in a great show by the time of the ASBC Asian Confederation Youth Boxing Championships in Subic Bay, in the Philippines while the second one was held during the 2014 ASBC Asian Youth Continental Championships in Bangkok, Thailand one year ago.
The ASBC President, the Vice-Presidents, the further Executive Committee members and the officials of the Asian Boxing Confederation nominated the Best of the Asians of the Year 2015 in fifteen different categories.
The Best of the Asians of the year 2015
1. The Best Asian Elite Man Boxer of the year: Bektemir Melikuziev (Uzbekistan)
Uzbekistan’s Bektemir Melikuziev was born in 1996 and will be turning to 20 only next year but his performance delivered for him this important title. Following his gold medal in the 2014 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships and in the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games he joined to the elite age group. The 19-year-old Uzbek boxer won the gold medal at the Strandja Memorial Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria which was his first main international elite tournament and a strong competition. Melikuziev eliminated Kazakhstan’s AIBA World Champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in the quarter-final of the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok and achieved finally the top of the podium in Thailand. The Uzbek teenager won four fights at the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships and secured a valuable silver medal in the most important event of the year. Melikuziev has already qualified to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games where he is among the gold medal favourites of the Middleweight class (75 kg).
2. The Best Asian Elite Woman Boxer of the year: Tassamelee Thongjan (Thailand)
Thailand’s Tassamelee Thongjan joined to their national women team still back in 2006 therefore she is one of the most experienced Asian female boxer in the continent. She won bronze medal at the 2010 AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Bridgetown, Barbados which was her career highlight until 2015. The Thai star won the gold medal and defended her throne at the Singapore 2015 Southeast Asian Games and reached the top of the podium at the ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships in Wulanchabu where she was able to beat all of her rivals with large margin of difference.
3. The Best Asian Youth Man Boxer of the year: Abilkhan Amankul (Kazakhstan)
Kazakhstan’s Abilkhan Amankul could be the new weapon of their boxing life who produced a perfect year winning all of his contests. He was born in 1997 and after his first year in the youth age group in 2014, the young Kazakh hope moved up to the Middleweight class (75 kg). Amankul won the gold medal in their Youth National Championships and defeated all of his rivals at the Pavlyukov Youth Memorial Tournament in Russia, at the Golden Gloves of Vojvodina Youth Tournament in Serbia and also at the Brandenburg Youth Cup in Germany which competitions are the strongest ones in his age group. Amankul will be joining to the elite age group in 2016 and looking forward his next contests in the highest possible level.
4. The Best Asian Youth Woman Boxer of the year: Chang Yuan (China)
China’s Chang Yuan was gold medallist in the 2013 AIBA Women’s Junior World Championships in Albena, Bulgaria and following that highlight she was able to win further events in 2014 and also in 2015. She lost to her old rival Armenia’s eventual winner Anush Grigoryan in the AIBA Youth World Championships in Sofia on April but her performance was enough to qualify to the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games where she controlled her fights and won the gold medal in the most important competition of the year of 2014. Chang Yuan continued the winning path also in the 2015 when she could win the gold medal at the AIBA Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships in Taipei. The 18-year-old boxer trains with coach Zhang Xiyan in the Qianan Boxing Club since 2009 and will be joining to the elite age group in 2016.
5. The Best Asian Junior Man Boxer of the year: Cris Sander Laurente (Philippines)
Philippines is a strong and developing boxing nation in the Asian continent with also great traditions in our combat sport. Their new future star could be Cris Sander Laurente who was born in General Santos City but lives and trains in their capital in Manila now. The 16-year-old boxer won all of his contests in the island of Mindanao and also in the whole Philippines in 2015. The orthodox boxer, who began the sport in 2010 at the age of 11, won silver medal at the 2015 ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan where he surprised the experts with his quick style.
6. The Best Asian Junior Woman Boxer of the year: Mandeep Kaur Sandhu (India)
India is very strong in women boxing and their best juniors won three gold medals at the 2015 AIBA Women’s Junior World Boxing Championships in Taipei. Among them Mandeep Kaur Sandhu delivered the best performance in that event who won all of her contests in the current year. The 15-year-old Indian girl defeated four strong Europeans in the event in Taipei such as England’s Ivy Jane Smith, Hungary’s Angela Nagy, France’s Johanna Wonyou and finally Ireland’s Niamh Earley in the championships.
7. The Best Asian WSB Boxer of the year: Vassiliy Levit (Astana Arlans Kazakhstan)
Vasiliy Levit was born in 1988 and began his boxing career in the new capital city of Kazakhstan in Astana at the age of 12. He joined to the cadet national team of Kazakhstan in 2004 following his first title at home. Levit was too strong for all of his opponents in the Asian Cadet Continental Championships in Vietnam in 2004 where he reached his first main international success with that gold medal. He was involved to the Astana Arlans Kazakhstan WSB franchise following he has won four international tournaments in 2012 and in 2013. Levit defeated six tough rivals in the Season IV as newcomer in the World Series of Boxing and continued that wonderful series in the Season V. The top ranked Heavyweight in Season V of the World Series of Boxing, Levit qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games through his exploits in the competition. Away from boxing, he enjoys reading books about history, while his own boxing hero is US legend Mike Tyson.
8. The Best Asian APB Boxer of the year: Berik Abdrakhmanov (Kazakhstan)
Kazakhstan’s Berik Abdrakhmanov won the final of the AIBA Professional Boxing (APB) in the Lightweight class (60 kg) and did historical triumphs in the new series which was launched in October 2014 as AIBA’s new vision. Berik Abdrakhmanov was involved to the national team of Kazakhstan only after his first title in 2012 after the London Olympic Games when he was already 28. He was enough experienced when he joined to the squad of one of the best in the world and claimed gold medal at the 2013 ASBC Asian Continental Championships in Amman and bagged a bronze in the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty. Berik Abdrakhmanov had to meet in the APB Final with Uzbekistan’s Hurshid Tojibayev in Astana where the final verdict of their bout was 77:75 twice and 78:74 by the three judges which meant Abdrakhmanov won the first APB title of the Lightweight class (60 kg).
9. The Asian Discovery of the year: Rogen Ladon (Philippines)
Philippines’ Rogen Ladon surprised the world in the year of 2015 when he proved he joined to the top boxers of the globe very quickly and adopted the level of all athletes. Ladon replaced injured London 2012 Olympian Mark Anthony Barriga in the Light Flyweight class (49 kg) in their national squad and used his skills to deliver big sensations. The 22-year-old boxer was silver medallist at the Singapore 2015 Southeast Asian Games and did also similar performance at the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok where he lost to only eventual winner Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan in the final. Ladon qualified to the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships where he won his fights in the front of his national legend Manny Pacquiao and finally claimed an incredible bronze medal with amazing performance in Qatar.
10. The Best Asian Coach of the year: Mr. Rustam Saidov (Uzbekistan)
Uzbekistan’s Rustam Saidov was gold medallist at the 1999 Asian Boxing Championships in Tashkent and he was bronze medallist at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games as a boxer of the Super Heavyweight class (+91 kg). The 37-year-old former boxer is now an experienced coach in Uzbekistan who showed his skills are world class in this area as well. Uzbekistan delivered sensational year in 2015, their national team won gold medals in the most important events during the preparation to the major goals. Rustam Saidov’s team continued the excellent winning series at the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok achieving nine medals including two gold. The Uzbek team took record number of six medals at the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships which was the success also of their coaching squad.
11. The Best Asian Supervisor of the year: Mr. Mohamed Kamel Shbib (Syria)
The former Chairman of the ASBC Referee & Judge Commission Mr. Mohamed Kamel Shbib has been serving the world of boxing since 1987 and has got also huge experiences as official in the Asian Boxing Confederation. Mr. Shbib was Supervisor in several competitions in the recent years such as at the ASBC Asian Junior Championships in Shymkent, at the Ismoil Hamzaaliyev Memorial Tournament in Khudjand, Tajikistan, at the Sportaccord World Combat Games in St. Petersburg and at the Gulf Countries Tournament in Abu Dhabi. Mr. Shbib continued his hard job this year working professionally at the ASBC Asian Confederation Women’s Boxing Championships in Wulanchabu, at the ASBC Asian Confederation Junior Boxing Championships in Tashkent, at the Issatai Taimanov & Makhambet Utemisov Memorial Tournament in Kazakhstan, at the Pacific Games in Papua New Guinea and also at the Rio Test Event in Brazil.
12. The Best Asian ITO of the year: Mr. Walid Jarrar (Jordan)
Mr. Walid Jarrar, the Chairman of the ASBC Competition Commission, was awarded the Best Asian ITO Trophy in 2015 following his great job in the boxing world. Jordan’s official worked high number of important international events such as at the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok, at the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships, at the Baku 2015 European Games and many other competitions. Mr. Jarrar is an engine to develop all areas of the competitions to improve Asia’ boxing life and reputation in all over the globe.
13. The Best Asian Referee & Judge of the year: Mr. Vuong Trong Nghia (Vietnam)
Following Uzbekistan’s Mr. Bahodir Jumaniyazov, Korea’s Mr. Kim Seog Won and China’s Mr. Wang Meng, a new winner Mr. Vuong Trong Nghia was appointed as the Best Asian Referee & Judge in 2015. Vietnam’s best 3-star AIBA referee worked at the AIBA Asian Olympic Qualifiers in 2012 and several worldwide events but he could done an amazing year in 2015. Mr. Vuong Trong Nghia worked in all of the major events in the current year such as the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships and also at the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok.
14. The Best ASBC Event of the year: ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships, Bangkok, Thailand
Thailand did not host any continental level event since the 1991 Asian Men’s Elite Boxing Championships which was held in Bangkok. Mr. Pichai Chunhavajira the new President of the local boxing association decided to regain their place in the Asian elite and hosted the first Asian championships in the year of 2014 which was held for the youth boxers in Bangkok. Mr. Chunhavajira decided to continue organizing events in the Asian continent and hosted the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Bangkok this August and September. The event was qualifier to the Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships and the level of the organization was world class.
15. The Best Asian National Federation of the year: Qatar Boxing Federation
Mr. Yousuf Ali Al-Kazim is the Vice-President of the Asian Boxing Confederation and also he is the President of the Qatar Boxing Federation which association hosted the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Doha with amazing success. The AIBA World Boxing Championships was a huge success in all areas of the event. The event has once again put Qatar back on the boxing map as a global sports hub and showcased their ability to host major international sports events. AIBA have said that this World Championship have set a new benchmark, while the athletes have informed us that they have never experienced better facilities. The main strength of their organization was the experience, boosted by the vision and support of Qatar Olympic Committee President H.H. Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani and Secretary General H.E. Dr. Thani Al Kuwari, also their experts in the most important areas of logistics, branding and media support.
List of the winners in 2015
| Nominations | Winner |
| Best Asian Man Boxer in 2015 | Bektemir Melikuziev (75kg), Uzbekistan |
| Best Asian Woman Boxer in 2015 | Tassamelee Thongjan (57 kg), Thailand |
| Best Asian Youth Man Boxer in 2015 | Abilkhan Amankul (75 kg), Kazakhstan |
| Best Asian Youth Woman Boxer in 2015 | Chang Yuan (51 kg), China |
| Best Asian Junior Man Boxer in 2015 | Cris Sander Laurente (48 kg), Philippines |
| Best Asian Junior Woman Boxer in 2015 | Mandeep Kaur Sandhu (52 kg), India |
| Best Asian WSB Boxer in 2015 | Vassiliy Levit (91 kg), Astana Arlans Kazakhstan |
| Best Asian APB Boxer in 2015 | Berik Abdrakhmanov (60 kg), Kazakhstan |
| Asian Discovery of the Year 2015 | Rogen Ladon (49 kg), Philippines |
| Best Asian Coach in 2015 | Mr. Rustam Saidov, Uzbekistan |
| Best Asian Supervisor in 2015 | Mr. Mohamed Kamel Shbib, Syria |
| Best Asian ITO in 2015 | Mr. Walid Jarrar, Jordan |
| Best Asian R&J in 2015 | Mr. Vuong Trong Nghia, Vietnam |
| The Best ASBC Event in 2015 | 2015 ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships, Bangkok (THA) |
| The Best Asian National Federation in 2015 | Qatar Boxing Federation |