Uzbekistan’s Erkinboyev nips Kazakhstan’s Sovetov anew in Aitenov Brothers youth tourney

Asian youth champion Fazliddin Erkinboyev of Uzbekistan sneaked past Islam Sovetov of Kazakhstan, 3-2, in a touted rematch in the preliminary round of the 22nd Aitenov Brothers Youth Tournament in the Kazakh city of Kostanay last Thursday.

Erkinboyev, who snagged the welterweight (67kg) title against Sovetov in the ASBC Asian Youth Championships held in Amman, Jordan last March, faced a tougher rival this time around as they both moved up to the light middleweight (71kg) division.

But the rising Uzbek star showed his world-class footwork in the opening round and mustered the stamina until the final bell to advance to the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, two more Asian medalists in Abdurakhim Yokubov of Tajikistan and Madjiyar Taipakov of Kazakhstan eliminated their respective opponents in the light welterweight (63.5kg) class on Day 2.

The 17-year-old former Asian junior winner Yokubov, who seized a silver in Amman, executed a clinical 4-1 win over Kazakhstan’s Seraly Zholmaganbet.

For his part, Dubai 2021 Asian Junior Boxing Championships bronze finisher Taipakov pulled off a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Uzbekistan’s Murodbek Bakhriddinov. The Aitenov Brothers tilt is part of the participating national teams’ preparations for the IBA Youth Men’s & Women’s World Boxing Championships scheduled to take place on November 5-20 in Alicante, Spain.

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