AIBA Boxing WM 2017 in Hamburg

[HI-TECH Boxing]

Good breakdown, I think Arlen Lopez has lost his speed, but if he is paired with Knijniak I this match-up wise he might win this one. I think Madrimov beats him again.

I think Leonel Santos should be higher on your list, he should win the gold no problem.

Arthur Byarslanov in my opinion beat the German at the Olympics but was robbed. I think he should be there on your list as well.

At 69 I don't know if Shymbergenov qualified but if he did, he should be on the list as well, it's either him Roniel or Giyasov in my opinion

At heavyweight, you should put Jose Larduet, he beat up and almost stopped Jalolov a few months back in the WSB, not losing a round. So while a small heavyweight he's proven so far to be the goods. I don't think Fraser Clarke is competing by the way.

I didn't order the fighters in any particular order. It was just off the top of my head.
I think de los Santos has a very good chance of winning at 56kg. I'm actually rooting for him.
I still remember when de los Santos competed at 49kg and used to fight Yuberjen Martinez. They fought four times and de los Santos won 3 and lost 1. All his wins were by split decision if I'm not mistaken. I think one was by unanimous decision.
That shows how good Yuberjen Martinez is too.

Oh yeah forgot about Larduet. I think he's going to go far. Super Heavyweight is so weak right now. All the top guys have turned pro or are in the process of going pro or have something else going on. And yeah someone told me that Clarke isn't competing.

I don't know. I think Khyzniak will provide a lot of the same problems Madrimov did to Lopez.
If Lopez can stay at distance then yeah he will beat Khyzniak. Khyzniak is not too technical but he is a strong guy. Joshua Buatsi who is a big strong Light-Heavyweight struggled to keep Khyzniak away, Middlewights will struggle even more.
I really want to see Lopez vs Khyzniak. Lopez definitely has the tools to win the Championships again, but he's been really disappointing post Olympics. Either way the Middleweight division will provide some great fights.

I think Abass Baraou of Germany will probably win at 69kg because the tournament is in Germany. 69kg is a great division.
You have Iglesias, McCormack, Giyasov, and Baraou. Shymbergenov didn't qualify. Kazakhstan is sending Zhussupov instead. Good boxer but a step behind the other guys I mentioned. The real star for Kazakhstan at 69kg for the 2020 Olympics will probably be the 2016 Youth World Champion Sadreddin Akhmedov. I really liked what I saw from that kid.
I see star written all over that kid.

Artem Harutyunyan of Germany at 64kg will probably also have a great chance of winning just because the tournament is in Germany. Andy Cruz and Hovhannes Bachkov should be the favorites though. Biyarslanov can definitely be a medal contender.

I'm excited for the World Championships like always.
What are your prediction? We may have to wait until the official draw to get something going. Should be fun.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

Yeah Clarke looked pretty bad in the Euros and someone said that he was carrying an injury even then, and yet he still came very close to winning gold. I like McGrail simply because his style is not one that you see too often in British fighters, same with Josh Kelly. This is probably an unpopular opinion but I think he could actually benefit from becoming more negative, as he sometimes plants his feet and throws punches unnecessarily, opening himself up to counters, when he could just as easily pot-shot on the move like a poor man's La Cruz. As for McCormack I think his heart is in the pros already. He doesn't score points as well as he used to, he seems more concerned with trying to hurt his opponents


I still believe that Arlen is the best middleweight, his form has just dropped since Rio for some reason. Possibly complacency or boredom

I like Cheavan Clarke more to be honest.
Something about McGrail doesn't convince me. I do like Josh Kelly though.
What do you think of Callum French? I really like what I see from him.
McCormack is so talented. I will support him no matter what route he goes. Whether it's to stay amateur or turn pro but for now he has to stay focus in what he is doing. He could go on to make a lot of history for Great Britain and possibly become the greatest amateur boxer to come out of the program. I hope he can take home the Gold. I think he will medal for sure. Tough division though. He has the potential to win gold in his best form.

[pesticid]

I didn't order the fighters in any particular order. It was just off the top of my head.
I think de los Santos has a very good chance of winning at 56kg. I'm actually rooting for him.
I still remember when de los Santos competed at 49kg and used to fight Yuberjen Martinez. They fought four times and de los Santos won 3 and lost 1. All his wins were by split decision if I'm not mistaken. I think one was by unanimous decision.
That shows how good Yuberjen Martinez is too.

Oh yeah forgot about Larduet. I think he's going to go far. Super Heavyweight is so weak right now. All the top guys have turned pro or are in the process of going pro or have something else going on. And yeah someone told me that Clarke isn't competing.

I don't know. I think Khyzniak will provide a lot of the same problems Madrimov did to Lopez.
If Lopez can stay at distance then yeah he will beat Khyzniak. Khyzniak is not too technical but he is a strong guy. Joshua Buatsi who is a big strong Light-Heavyweight struggled to keep Khyzniak away, Middlewights will struggle even more.
I really want to see Lopez vs Khyzniak. Lopez definitely has the tools to win the Championships again, but he's been really disappointing post Olympics. Either way the Middleweight division will provide some great fights.

I think Abass Baraou of Germany will probably win at 69kg because the tournament is in Germany. 69kg is a great division.
You have Iglesias, McCormack, Giyasov, and Baraou. Shymbergenov didn't qualify. Kazakhstan is sending Zhussupov instead. Good boxer but a step behind the other guys I mentioned. The real star for Kazakhstan at 69kg for the 2020 Olympics will probably be the 2016 Youth World Champion Sadreddin Akhmedov. I really liked what I saw from that kid.
I see star written all over that kid.

Artem Harutyunyan of Germany at 64kg will probably also have a great chance of winning just because the tournament is in Germany. Andy Cruz and Hovhannes Bachkov should be the favorites though. Biyarslanov can definitely be a medal contender.

I'm excited for the World Championships like always.
What are your prediction? We may have to wait until the official draw to get something going. Should be fun.

I don't even know how to predict because last Worlds the judging was so bad and so corrupt, same with the Olympics. There are a lot of quality boxers and I just hope for fair judging. I am still upset about how they did Levitt at the Olympics and still can't get over Roniel's loss at the worlds against the Azerbaijani fighter. By the way where is the Russian guy at 64, what's his name again? The guy who won it in 2015? I think he got robbed against Uzbekistan at the Olympics, that Uzbekistan bum got like 3 favourable judge scorecards to win the gold.

I am cheering for 3 guys mainly, Asenov at 52, Andy Cruz and Byarslanov. I think Dusmatov wins again without any problems. Heavyweight could be interesting. At 91 I hope Levitt wins it. I think Madrimov and Leonel should be clear favourites.

I think 69 is lucky that Shymbergenov is not competing as he's beat Roniel twice and he's beat Giyasov too.

I was never a fan of Knijniak at 81, I've seen Mina out tough him and outbox him. I mean he was a punching bag for all of those guys, bad boxing stance, bad footwork, bad IQ, I haven't seen him at 75 and I know he won in Europe but you don't correct your boxing fundamentals in 2 years like that. Maybe he surprises me but I've seen like 8-10 fights of his at 81 and he was below average.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

I don't even know how to predict because last Worlds the judging was so bad and so corrupt, same with the Olympics. There are a lot of quality boxers and I just hope for fair judging. I am still upset about how they did Levitt at the Olympics and still can't get over Roniel's loss at the worlds against the Azerbaijani fighter. By the way where is the Russian guy at 64, what's his name again? The guy who won it in 2015? I think he got robbed against Uzbekistan at the Olympics, that Uzbekistan bum got like 3 favourable judge scorecards to win the gold.

I am cheering for 3 guys mainly, Asenov at 52, Andy Cruz and Byarslanov. I think Dusmatov wins again without any problems. Heavyweight could be interesting. At 91 I hope Levitt wins it. I think Madrimov and Leonel should be clear favourites.

I think 69 is lucky that Shymbergenov is not competing as he's beat Roniel twice and he's beat Giyasov too.

I was never a fan of Knijniak at 81, I've seen Mina out tough him and outbox him. I mean he was a punching bag for all of those guys, bad boxing stance, bad footwork, bad IQ, I haven't seen him at 75 and I know he won in Europe but you don't correct your boxing fundamentals in 2 years like that. Maybe he surprises me but I've seen like 8-10 fights of his at 81 and he was below average.

Can't blame you for that, but it's still fun to predict. We will have to wait until the official draw to get a better idea.
Hopefully Roniel and Levit can get better decisions this time around. Both strong medal contenders in their weight class.
Oh you're talking about Vitaly Dunaytsev. He seems to have lost a step, as he lost early at the European Championships, the 2015 World Championships. He will still be a contender for a medal, but it would be better for Russia to replace him in the near future. Russia has some strong up and comers that should replace a lot of their current squad. And when they do I think Russia will be scary.

Asenov has a really good chance of winning the whole thing at 52kg. I also think Dusmatov will win without too much problems. I'm good with Levit or Savon winning at 91kg. Leonel will probably be the number 4 seed, I'm guessing not 100%, going into the tournament and may have to face Akhmadaliev in the semifinals. I think Leonel can beat him but let's see if he can get a decision. If he can then he should win the whole thing.

Did we see the same fight? I and many others felt that Khyzniak won that fight against Mina. Mina only won a split decision. And let's not forget that Mina has given the Light-Heavyweight kingpin, La Cruz, trouble in the past.
Khyzniak is not a technical boxer, like I said before, but his style is a problem; especially at Middleweight.
He's going to be a handful for the rest of the Middleweights. There will be a lot of fun fights for sure. I want to see Lopez-Madrimov, Lopez-Khyzniak, Khyzniak-Madrimov, etc.
Don't expect any technical brilliance from Khyzniak but don't be surprised if he wins the whole thing.

By the way, are you sure Larduet is competing at the World Championships?

[pesticid]

Can't blame you for that, but it's still fun to predict. We will have to wait until the official draw to get a better idea.
Hopefully Roniel and Levit can get better decisions this time around. Both strong medal contenders in their weight class.
Oh you're talking about Vitaly Dunaytsev. He seems to have lost a step, as he lost early at the European Championships, the 2015 World Championships. He will still be a contender for a medal, but it would be better for Russia to replace him in the near future. Russia has some strong up and comers that should replace a lot of their current squad. And when they do I think Russia will be scary.

Asenov has a really good chance of winning the whole thing at 52kg. I also think Dusmatov will win without too much problems. I'm good with Levit or Savon winning at 91kg. Leonel will probably be the number 4 seed, I'm guessing not 100%, going into the tournament and may have to face Akhmadaliev in the semifinals. I think Leonel can beat him but let's see if he can get a decision. If he can then he should win the whole thing.

Did we see the same fight? I and many others felt that Khyzniak won that fight against Mina. Mina only won a split decision. And let's not forget that Mina has given the Light-Heavyweight kingpin, La Cruz, trouble in the past.
Khyzniak is not a technical boxer, like I said before, but his style is a problem; especially at Middleweight.
He's going to be a handful for the rest of the Middleweights. There will be a lot of fun fights for sure. I want to see Lopez-Madrimov, Lopez-Khyzniak, Khyzniak-Madrimov, etc.
Don't expect any technical brilliance from Khyzniak but don't be surprised if he wins the whole thing.

By the way, are you sure Larduet is competing at the World Championships?

Well yeah, Larudet qualified in the Americas held in Honduras a few months ago, so barring injury he's there. Him and the Kazakh main heavy didn't square off in the WSB final b/w Cuba and Kazakhstan because had either been knocked out they wouldn't have been able to compete at the Worlds. I saw Knijniak giving hell to Joseph Ward but he still lost, the Mina fight was held at the Strandja Cup in Bulgaria if I am not mistaken. I've seen Knijniak against de La Cruz and he couldn't touch him. I am not hating on Knijniak, I am just not impressed with him at all. Leonel should have no problem beating up on Akmadaliev as I think Leonel right now is a step ahead of Robeisy when Robeisy was in shape, but getting the decision, that's a whole different thing. Asenov might indeed win i. Before he was really wild and relying on his natural gifts but they've added a Cuban coach and he is working on his stance and footwork a lot and I've read interviews of him saying that he doesn't like the new approach and what not but these European champions he looked so much better. He got a good high guard now too and that is something Cuban coaches are really good at teaching. So I will be obviously cheering for him. I know Knijniak is your boy so I might cher for him against Madrimov although I like Madrimov a lot, I thought he outclassed completely Arlen and while Arlen's been beat a lot recently what Madrimov handled him, I think he's all that. I think him and Dusmatov from Uzbekistan should get the gold no problem. You asked for predictions and here they are: Dusmatov, Asenov, Leonel, Lazaro (this will be his 4th time), Andy Cruz barring him getting robbed, 69 -will cheer for Roniel but can't count on him getting the decision maybe the German, Madrimov, La Cruz, Levitt, Either Ukraine or Cuba at super heavy.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

Well yeah, Larudet qualified in the Americas held in Honduras a few months ago, so barring injury he's there. Him and the Kazakh main heavy didn't square off in the WSB final b/w Cuba and Kazakhstan because had either been knocked out they wouldn't have been able to compete at the Worlds. I saw Knijniak giving hell to Joseph Ward but he still lost, the Mina fight was held at the Strandja Cup in Bulgaria if I am not mistaken. I've seen Knijniak against de La Cruz and he couldn't touch him. I am not hating on Knijniak, I am just not impressed with him at all. Leonel should have no problem beating up on Akmadaliev as I think Leonel right now is a step ahead of Robeisy when Robeisy was in shape, but getting the decision, that's a whole different thing. Asenov might indeed win i. Before he was really wild and relying on his natural gifts but they've added a Cuban coach and he is working on his stance and footwork a lot and I've read interviews of him saying that he doesn't like the new approach and what not but these European champions he looked so much better. He got a good high guard now too and that is something Cuban coaches are really good at teaching. So I will be obviously cheering for him. I know Knijniak is your boy so I might cher for him against Madrimov although I like Madrimov a lot, I thought he outclassed completely Arlen and while Arlen's been beat a lot recently what Madrimov handled him, I think he's all that. I think him and Dusmatov from Uzbekistan should get the gold no problem. You asked for predictions and here they are: Dusmatov, Asenov, Leonel, Lazaro (this will be his 4th time), Andy Cruz barring him getting robbed, 69 -will cheer for Roniel but can't count on him getting the decision maybe the German, Madrimov, La Cruz, Levitt, Either Ukraine or Cuba at super heavy.

I was looking at a list of qualified fighters and his name wasn't on it, so I was curious. I know he won the qualifiers so he should go unless he got injured or something.

I'm not saying you're hating Khyzniak. I'm not trying to convince you he's some sort of master boxer. All I'm saying is that he has a very good chance of winning Worlds.
And no shame in losing to La Cruz like that. Especially back then. When he was the best amateur in the World most likely. I don't he is anymore. He may not even be the best amateur in Cuba IMO.
I like watching Khyzniak because of his style but I wouldn't say he's "my boy."

My predictions before looking at draw:
49kg: Hasanboy Dusmatov
52kg: Daniel Asenov
56kg: Leonel de los Santos
60kg: Lazaro Alvarez I'll say Lazaro Alvarez but I do get the feeling he may lose just base on how AIBA has been promoting other fighters in that weight class. I'm not saying he's going to get robbed as I feel Alvarez has looked more and more vulnerable lately.
64kg: Andy Cruz, but since the tournament is in Germany don't be shocked if Artem Harutyunyan takes it.
69kg: Abass Baraou. Not the best boxer in the weight class but Germany.
75kg: Oleksandr Khyzniak. I could see any of the big three Lopez/Madrimov/Khyzniak taking it. If I had to choose I would say Khyzniak surprises.
81kg: Julio Cesar La Cruz
91kg: Vassiliy Levit
91+kg: Difficult weight class to predict. I don't even know to be honest. Same like you. Viktor Vykhryst or Larduet (if he's competing) would be my guess to take it.

[pesticid]

I was looking at a list of qualified fighters and his name wasn't on it, so I was curious. I know he won the qualifiers so he should go unless he got injured or something.

I'm not saying you're hating Khyzniak. I'm not trying to convince you he's some sort of master boxer. All I'm saying is that he has a very good chance of winning Worlds.
And no shame in losing to La Cruz like that. Especially back then. When he was the best amateur in the World most likely. I don't he is anymore. He may not even be the best amateur in Cuba IMO.
I like watching Khyzniak because of his style but I wouldn't say he's "my boy."

My predictions before looking at draw:
49kg: Hasanboy Dusmatov
52kg: Daniel Asenov
56kg: Leonel de los Santos
60kg: Lazaro Alvarez I'll say Lazaro Alvarez but I do get the feeling he may lose just base on how AIBA has been promoting other fighters in that weight class. I'm not saying he's going to get robbed as I feel Alvarez has looked more and more vulnerable lately.
64kg: Andy Cruz, but since the tournament is in Germany don't be shocked if Artem Harutyunyan takes it.
69kg: Abass Baraou. Not the best boxer in the weight class but Germany.
75kg: Oleksandr Khyzniak. I could see any of the big three Lopez/Madrimov/Khyzniak taking it. If I had to choose I would say Khyzniak surprises.
81kg: Julio Cesar La Cruz
91kg: Vassiliy Levit
91+kg: Difficult weight class to predict. I don't even know to be honest. Same like you. Viktor Vykhryst or Larduet (if he's competing) would be my guess to take it.

Our picks are pretty close. I am thinking Azerbaijan, Germany and Uzbekistan might get same favorable judging. That's why I think Dusmatov and Madrimov are sure gold medal winners because they don't even need the judges's help. I think you're right about Larduet, I just saw a video from the Cuban team training in Hamburg and I did not see Larduet so he might have gotten injured. Have you seen the training facilities in Hamburg? I've never seen better facilities, these Germans man, everything they build they build it great.

I don't think La Cruz is the best in Cuba anymore either and same goes for Arlen Lopez. I think Iglesias at 75 from Cuba is just a nightmare match up for anybody but they are staying loyal to Arlen since he won them the Pan Am, World and Olympic Golds. I personally think he's outgrown the division and his speed and resistance to speed is just not there anymore.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

Our picks are pretty close. I am thinking Azerbaijan, Germany and Uzbekistan might get same favorable judging. That's why I think Dusmatov and Madrimov are sure gold medal winners because they don't even need the judges's help. I think you're right about Larduet, I just saw a video from the Cuban team training in Hamburg and I did not see Larduet so he might have gotten injured. Have you seen the training facilities in Hamburg? I've never seen better facilities, these Germans man, everything they build they build it great.

I don't think La Cruz is the best in Cuba anymore either and same goes for Arlen Lopez. I think Iglesias at 75 from Cuba is just a nightmare match up for anybody but they are staying loyal to Arlen since he won them the Pan Am, World and Olympic Golds. I personally think he's outgrown the division and his speed and resistance to speed is just not there anymore.

No, I haven't had the chance to see any videos on the training facilities. Can you link me up?
Yeah, man. Germans and Japanese are super organized people.
I wish Germany was more into boxing. Who knows what type of talent they could produce.

I thought Iglesias beat Lopez both times at Nationals. Unfortunately for Lopez, La Cruz would be waiting for him at Light Heavyweight.

[pesticid]

No, I haven't had the chance to see any videos on the training facilities. Can you link me up?
Yeah, man. Germans and Japanese are super organized people.
I wish Germany was more into boxing. Who knows what type of talent they could produce.

I thought Iglesias beat Lopez both times at Nationals. Unfortunately for Lopez, La Cruz would be waiting for him at Light Heavyweight.

I saw the vids on my facebook feed so I can't really link them up. I am sure on youtube there are some videos of the teams training camps in Hamburg.

Yep, Larduet is not there, the coaches are not answering any questions. Acebal who is the head coach has to go away, he's made so many decisions because of his ego. He suspended Lazaro for 7 months because he dyed his hair blond. For an elite level athlete especially in boxing to miss that much time is just ridiculous, this is not professional boxing, this is the amateurs where you have to be constantly active and if you're not you drop behind the competition. Apparently Cuba had a really bad preparation for these games too. They were going to have a camp in Iran with Azerbaijan where they could train and spar together but it fell apart. So they prepared on their own and that's not good for such a high level competition. This is not the freaking Americas where there is very little competition.

[HI-TECH Boxing]

I saw the vids on my facebook feed so I can't really link them up. I am sure on youtube there are some videos of the teams training camps in Hamburg.

Yep, Larduet is not there, the coaches are not answering any questions. Acebal who is the head coach has to go away, he's made so many decisions because of his ego. He suspended Lazaro for 7 months because he dyed his hair blond. For an elite level athlete especially in boxing to miss that much time is just ridiculous, this is not professional boxing, this is the amateurs where you have to be constantly active and if you're not you drop behind the competition. Apparently Cuba had a really bad preparation for these games too. They were going to have a camp in Iran with Azerbaijan where they could train and spar together but it fell apart. So they prepared on their own and that's not good for such a high level competition. This is not the freaking Americas where there is very little competition.

Well, here are the official draws if anyone is interested:




I haven't had the chance to analyze them yet.