IBA Men's World Boxing Championship | Deepak Bhoria stuns Olympic medalist
Deepak Bhoria stunned Kazakhstan's Saken Bibossinov, who had won the bronze medal in the Tokyo Olympics, and did so to advance to the 51 kg pre-quarterfinals of the World Championships on Sunday. After trailing in the first two rounds, he put up an outstanding performance in the final three minutes.
In the end, the Indian defeated 2021 World Champion Bibossinov 5-2 to go to the pre-quarterfinals. Mohammed Hussamuddin (57 kg), a two-time Commonwealth medalist, also defeated Russia's Eduard Savvin with ease, winning 5-0 to go to the semifinals.
Although Deepak started the fight slowly and had some time to settle into a rhythm, Bibossinov took advantage of this and scored some blows on his rival. Although the Indian boxer gave his opponent a burst of blows towards the end of the first round, he still lost by a score of 2-3.Â
Deepak ramped up the tempo and moved about quickly in the third round after dropping the second round while striking his opponent hard. He continuously avoided the blows thrown by the Kazakh fighter, winning the match in the eyes of the judges.Â
In his upcoming round, Deepak will take against Zhang Jiamao of China in an effort to secure yet another significant victory in the competition.Â
"My target was to play with patience since the start of the bout and gather as many points as I can. The first two rounds were tough but I was focused on not losing my patience and waiting for the right moment to attack," Deepak said after a memorable win.
"Coaches had told me to lure my opponent with the right punch before using my left hook to good effect. It worked as I connect a lot of left hooks to get points. Every bout is important for me and I play every match like it's a final match for me," he added.Â
Hussamuddin, on the other hand, controlled the fight right away and never allowed his opponent a chance to mount a comeback. In the second round, Hussamuddin outran his Russian rival in speed. He continued to counterpunch wisely in the third round, winning by unanimous decision.Â
In the quarterfinals, he will face Javier Diaz Ibanez of Bulgaria.