Vona, Becka, Kasmaoui and Dowds delighted the U19 bouts in Portimao

The new edition of the Portimao Box Cup opened with superb U19 contests with such stars as Damian Becka, Conor Dowds, Loris Vona and Adam Kasmaoui.

Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Ghana, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, United States of America and Wales have registered to participate in the busy tournament.

Portugal’s Joao Negrita and Spain’s Rodrigo Diaz Naranjo met in one of the first contests in the competition and the two little boys impressed in the U15 level. Negrita felt the support of the home crowd and he won the first bout for the host country in the 42kg weight category.

Ireland’s Emmet Shields and James O’Donaghue faced in a top battle at the U17 54kg weight class and they both had beautiful style of boxing. Shields worked better in the second round which was a decision-making period between them and he won the Irish bout.

France’s Matvey Hryhoriev shocked his opponent in the U17 75kg weight class and he stopped Slovakia’s Vladislav Kurecko in a quick bout. The new French sensation caught his opponent with heavy punches in the first round and after the standing counts, the referee stopped their quarter-final.

The next Slovakia vs. France battle was closer between Damian Becka and Ryan Catherine in the U19 age group. The Slovakian used his longer hands to keep his French opponent on long and his attacks were also successful to win this quarter-final.

France’s Kenzo Belin is a superb talent from Nantes who demonstrated his power already in the first round against England’s Martin Ward. The 16-year-old French dominated the further parts of the quarter-final and he won their 48kg meeting by large margin of difference.

Portugal’s Artur Trunov and Switzerland’s Joel Schütz met in the next outstanding contest in Portimao to decide the medals at the 75kg in the U17 age group. The local boxer from the Jorge Pina Boxing Team did not deliver his best ever performance today but he won the quarter-final against an experienced opponent.

Switzerland’s Leonis Pacarizi controlled all of the three rounds against Ireland’s Kyrin Kelly and he delivered one of the top performances among the U19 boxers. His teammate in the U19 squad, Kebron Amanuel was not able to repeat that performance and he lost to England’s Harry Rawcliffe at the 65kg.

Switzerland’s Loris Vona had already 65 bouts during his career despite the fact that he is still in the U19 age group. The Swiss met a five-times Slovakian National Champion, Maximilian Miklas but he managed to win their 65kg contest with great strategy.

Spain’s U19 team member, Adam Kasmaoui had strong international results last year and he has strong goals for the events in 2026. The Spaniard had stronger punches than Hartley McKenzie in the first and second rounds but his punched were decisive in the third to stop his opponent.

Zack Rackevic trains in the famous Repton ABC in England but he had a hard tactical fight against Ireland’s tall Cormac Smyth in their U19 age group bout. The English boxer stepped into the gas in the second round and he eliminated a technician Irish opponent at the 60kg.

Ireland’s Mikey McDonagh had a big march against England’s Oscar Merreywether in the third round and his exceptional finish guaranteed his success at the 60kg. Another Irish boxer, a big gun in the Portimao Box Cup, Conor Dowds was amazing in his opener at the 70kg as well.

Liam Dobey had a hard job against Switzerland’s Louis Neuhaus at the 65kg while a local boy in the U19 age group, Fabiano Morar attacked without any stoppages and he won his opener by RSC in the first round.

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