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10/09/2007

Silver success for Yafai

In the finals of the Cadet Championships in Azerbaijan Gamal Yafai gave an impressive performance against classy Indian opponent Vipin Kumar, with both boxers testing each other with single shots in round one and Kumar taking the lead with his accuracy. superb footwork and movement on Kumar's behalf kept Yafai from Getting ahead and the Indian selectively picked him off. 

The first semi finals were held on Friday September 7th:

Gamal Yafai put in an excellent performance against Gheorghe Catalin (Romania), with a 27-11 result earning him the chance to box in the finals on Saturday. This emulates Khalid's success in the Liverpool Cadets two years ago and proves the Yafais are shaping up to be the most exciting amateur boxing siblings in Britain. Gamal countered the Romanian with solid hooks to head and body, notching up a lead of 7-2 in the first round. The second round saw Catalin switch stance to southpaw but Gamal was able to pick him off, ending the round 18-9 up. Gamal started the third in a relaxed and confident manner and went on to win 27-11.

Congratulations also to Martin Ward, who lost to Elven Isayev on the Azerbaijani's home turf (18-05). Martin's performance this week has been exemplary, and he brings back one of our first ever cadet medals away from British shores. The first round was good for both boxers, who competed punch for punch. Martin countered the forward boxing Azerbaijani with accurate right hooks, but the score was still 8-2 to Azerbaijan. 

In the second round, Martin upped his work rate with no avail as his opponent increased his lead to 15-4. The third round saw the English boxer alter tactics and go on the offensive, but this wasn't reflected in the 18-5 final result.

The second quarter finals took place on Wednesday September 6th:

Gamal Yafai boxed tactically against Hungarian Robert Konnyn. From the outset, Gamal picked off his opponent with hooks to the body and head, as the Hungarian came in. At the end of the 1st round he was 2-7 up. The second round started scrappily, but Gamal stuck to his boxing to regain control. He used a variety of shots to confuse and frustrate his opponent and by the end of the round was 4-15 up. The third round saw Gamal warned for using the inside of his glove. He kept his composure, drawing his opponent onto some lovely counters. Gamal won the bout 8-21 and goes on to face Gheorghe Catalin (Romania).

Martin Ward v Luis Cortes (USA) was the second bout of the evening, with Martin boxing superbly. In the second round Martin caught the American with left hand counters which landed to the head with ease. Halfway through the round he landed a right hand uppercut, forcing Cortes back a pace. The score at the end of the round was 3-7. During round 2, Martin used some great foot and body movement to confuse his opponent, enabling him to pick him off with some ease. He finished the round 6-10 up. The third round saw Martin start similarly, though he was warned for a low head. This sparked the English boxer into upping the pace and notching up a 10-21 win. 

Martin will now go on to face Isayev Elvin of Azerbaijan.

The quarter finals were on Tuesday 4th September:

Martin Ward (50kg) had a very technical bout against Hungarian Robert Kanalas in the latest round of preliminaries. Martin countered Kanalas with constant clean left hooks in the first round, ending the round with a four point lead. 

The second round started in the same way, but Martin got caught with a straight left hand from the southpaw Hungarian and was awarded a standing count. For the rest of the round, Martin stayed away from his opponent, picking his shots.

The third round saw Kanalas frustrated, giving Ward the ideal chance to build up his points lead with his superb counter-punching skills. The final score was 21-14 and Martin will go on to box Luis Cortes (USA) on Wednesday 5th September. Gamal Yafai will face another Hungarian.

The first preliminary rounds took place on Sunday 2nd September:

Gamal Yafai's (50kg) first opponent was American John Determan. Gamal took charge of the bout with some telling and clinical shots, keeping the American away for most of the bout. Gamal landed plenty of body shots, before effectively switching to the head and winning the bout 16-6. He now looks forward to boxing a Hungarian on Wednesday.

Anthony Fowler (63kg) faced Uzbeki boxer Mashur Ruziyev. Anthony had a slow start, and both boxers paced themselves. By the end of the first round only one point separated the two. Ruziyev edged ahead in the second round, taking a four point lead as they continued to pick their punches. The Uzbeki managed to sustain his lead, increasing the gap to 6 points and winning the bout.

Martin Ward (46kg) is next up for England, boxing a Hungarian on Tuesday. Team manager Cliff Perkins reports that the team is in good spirits.  Accompanying them are coaches John Lyon and Darren Maher and referee Jack Goodwin.