On Friday, Spanish boxer Ayoub Ghadfa secured at least a bronze medal in the +92 kilos boxing category after reaching the semi-finals by defeating Armenian David Chaloyan by unanimous decision (5-0).
It was a fight that was a repeat of the last European Championship, where the Spaniard won, and it was also very intense, as it happened in Paris. So much so that both boxers had to be treated repeatedly after a head-to-head clash, which caused a cut to Ayoub on the left side of his head, above his ear, while Chaloyan suffered a cut on his left eyebrow. Setbacks for both boxers, who, even so, continued with their high intensity.
The first round went to the Spaniard, who was the winner according to all five judges, thanks to his good work with his back hand, the right, and the greater cadence of punches compared to a Chaloyan who worked a lot with his left hand, trying to control the distance and the center of the ring.
In the second round, there were continuous stoppages. On two occasions, due to a cut by Ayoub and two others by Chaloyan’s corner, he put his underwear back on, which fell off during the fight. A few seconds and three minutes later, Ayoub prevailed again. This time for four judges, which left the fight in his hands only if he didn’t get into trouble in the third round. Four times they already gave him a two-point advantage (20-18), and another time he saw the fight tied (19-19).
Ayoub had to hold on. And so he did. However, the world runner-up, Chaloyan, was not going to sell his defeat cheaply. The Armenian raised the intensity, aware that he needed to get past the Spaniard to reach the semi-finals. He tried with a greater combination of blows and with a right to the chin of Ayoub with two minutes to go that changed the Spaniard’s expression, but he was able to recover and continue managing the final moments to end up with his fist raised in the air at the Paris Arena North.
He is the second Spanish boxer to make it to the semi-finals, after Enmanuel Reyes Pla did so on Thursday, thus ending a medal drought that dates back to Rafa Lozano, the current coach, winning silver in Sydney 2000.
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