Levit and Ibragimov started strongly in the Republic of Kazakhstan President’s Cup

The fifth edition of the Republic of Kazakhstan President’s Cup began in Astana, Kazakhstan where 113 boxers are attending for the medals in the currently thirteen Olympic weight classes. In the first competition day the winners of the contests advanced to the quarter-finals or already to the semi-finals in Astana.
Kazakhstan’s light flyweight (49kg) boxer Temirtas Zhussupov won his WSB Semi-final bout on Saturday and short after that tough battle he was able to win his opening contest also in the Republic of Kazakhstan President’s Cup in Astana. The former ASBC Asian Champion Kazakh veteran had a hard rival, Uzbekistan’s Nodirjon Mirzakhmedov but finally his hand was raised after the last gong.
Kyrgyzstan’s three-time National Champion Zhanybek Musayev won the gold medal in the Taimanov & Utemisov Memorial Tournament this year and arrived to Astana in top form. The 23-year-old boxer returned to the flyweight (52kg) and controlled all of the rounds against India’s Deepak Singh in the first preliminary round.
Kazakhstan’s newly crowned National Champion Bekdaulet Ibragimov claimed bronze medal in the ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships in Tashkent one month ago. The light welterweight (64kg) talent, who will be turning to 22 later this year, dominated his fight over Kyrgyzstan’s Arziyev Brothers Tournament silver medallist Sayat Zhusupov and the referee stopped their bout in the second round.
Philippines’ Joel Bacho moved up to the welterweight (69kg) this year and claimed a valuable bronze medal in the Thailand International Invitational Tournament two months ago. The Filipino boxer was not able to qualify for the Hamburg 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships but his skills were enough to start well against South Korea’s Lee Seung Hyeon in the Republic of Kazakhstan President’s Cup.
Kazakhstan’s Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medallist and three-time ASBC Asian Champion Vassiliy Levit had to meet in the opening round of the heavyweight (91kg) with a returning boxer South Korea’s Kim Dong Hoe who was successful in the international events six and seven years ago. The Korean boxer was competitive to Levit but Kazakhstan’s pride did enough to bear his veteran rival in Astana.
Kazakhstan’s ASBC Asian Confederation Boxing Championships silver medallist Kamshybek Kunkabayev was excellent in his debuting super heavyweight (+91kg) contest against such a strong rival as Uzbekistan’s former AIBA Junior World Champion Mirzobek Khasanov who was a successful WSB bout this year. Kunkabayev was effective, worked well in the whole bout and won his key match by unanimous decision.