DAY TWO: 2021 AIBA World Boxing Championships - Men's Elite

Meet USA's Roscoe Hill - The Flyweight Who Got A Stoppage Win.

USA

Flyweight: Roscoe Hill Stops Mario Lavegar of DR

Team USA has started this tournament 3-0, which is a very good start. Hill, who has element of distance control similar to Floyd Mayweather, put it on Mario Lavegar to earn a stoppage win, and make a statement. The Texas fighter, Hill, will now need to use his feet against Artur Hovhannisyan of Armenia, as Hovhannisyan will test Hill’s endurance and toughness, along with skill.

Other Notables

Flyweight

Yuberjen Martínez, COL - One of the best flyweights in the world, and the man who lost the 2020 Olympic Games due to an awful slew of scores that did not replicate his fight should be the tournament favorite. Martinez is a solid pressure fighter, who throws more punches than anyone else in the division, and if he turned pro, could fight for a world title in less than ten fights. Martinez will next face Dzianis Salotskikh.

Ronaldo Bezerra, BRA - Very well-rounded, and like many Brazilian boxers of the past Bezerra has two traits I see pressure, and patiences. Bezerra will always pressure the action, but will not throw for the sake of throwing making him unique in that sense especially at the lower weight classes. Bezerra’s next fight will be against Federico Serra of Italy.

Akhtem Zakirov, RUS - Zakirov is a high-volume Russian fighter, who looks the part to be a medalist. His opening bout win was impressive, and should showcase his skills nicely in the next round against Attila Bernáth of Hungary.

Carlos Ramírez, GUA - A very skilled fighter, who could go largely unnoticed with the slew of fights. Ramirez is able to box and move without it looking amateurish which is rare in world-level amateur boxing. He will face Miguel Ramos of Venezuela in the next round.

Hasanboy Dusmatov, UZB - Despite losing in the opening round, Dusmatov, the 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist, still feels like one of the best fighters in the tournament. He appeared to drop Saken Bibossinov, KAZ, in the fight, but it was ruled as a slip. Dusmatov is overtly aggressive, and is not very reliant on a jab, but throws good combinations with power shots. Very surprised he didn’t win, Dusmatov is notable.

Light Welterweight

Andy Cruz, CUB - The best amateur in the world, who if he turned pro, would be a little less than stellar as a pro looks like the man to beat in this division. Cruz is fast with his feet, and hands, and also knows how to win as well as spoil. Cruz next faces Nicollás de Jesús of Brazil, who was awarded a first-round bye.

Pavel Fedorov, SER - Outclassed his opponent from Germany with good movement, and is fighting in his home country. We will find out the ceiling of Fedorov when he faces a tough and durable brute in Kerem Özmen of Turkey in his next fight.

Ashkan Rezaei, IRI - The most polished Iranian boxer I have seen in international competition to date. Rezaei fights like a pro, and has solid fundamentals as well. Very impressive, the only draw back is that he is a division with a lot of good fighters. In his next bout he will face Reese Lynch of Scotland.

Mateo Komadina, CRO - Gets hit way too much, but is very aggressive offensively. Knocked down his opponent in his first fight. Will be truly tested in his next bout against Denys Pesotskyy of the Ukraine. Komadina is a fighter, who knows who is, but who is, is someone who can struggle against the top of the class, but might look like a million bucks against someone just below his level. For fans of pro boxing he might be an interesting pro to keep tabs on to see how he develops.

Middleweight

Salvatore Cavallaro, ITA - A good southpaw, who has some flaws, but his instincts are good, and his hand speed and combinations work like a charm. Cavallaro is someone who has the tools to go very far in this tournament. His next fight will be against Kiryl Samadurau of BEL.

Diego Motoa, COL - Motoa is as dominant as anyone in the division, and scored a stoppage victory today. Motoa will next face Ansa Coker of Sierra Leone in the next round, and honestly seems to be the favorite to make it to the quarterfinals in his bracket.

Light Heavyweight

Ren Umemura, JPN - Big, strong and smart. Umemura has a lot of traits of one of the greatest Japanese amateurs, Ryota Murata. In the next round, Umemura will face   Silab Noori, and honestly should be the fighter to come out of this bracket. Umemura has all the makings of being the next marquee Japanese fighter.