Egor Mekhontcev Dominates the Gee Bee Tournament



Finland's first international competition of 2013, the Gee Bee Tournament, was held in Helsinki last weekend where women boxers competed in two weight categories.

Norway's Marielle Hansen continued her unbeaten run in Finland's capital after defeating Australia's Kirsty Harris by 18:8 in their gold medal contest. The host nation's only gold medal was achieved by two-time EU Women's Championships bronze medallist Mira Potkonen who stopped Norway's great future hope Fam Elgan in the final round.

Manuel Fabrizio Cappai competed in the London 2012 Olympic Games as the youngest Italian boxer and following some bouts in the Flyweight (52kg) division he has returned to his original territory of Light Flyweight (49kg). The 21-year-old Italian met French teenager Marcus Gevia in the final. Gevia competed in the AIBA Youth World Championships in Yerevan last December, but Cappai was able to keep two points clear until the final gong.

Russia's new national team member in the Flyweight category is Ovik Ogannisyan who is of Armenian-descent. Ogannisyan won his first ever international competition here in Helsinki. The 21-year-old Russian triumphed over England's European Championships bronze medallist Charlie Edwards in the finals. The Netherlands' Enrico Le Cruz did the same following his first ever gold medal at international level. The 19-year-old Dutch Bantamweight boxer also won over an English fighter, Gamal Yafai by 16:12.

Ireland's European Championships bronze medallist David Oliver Joyce was more experienced than his first opponent in Helsinki, France's rising star AIBA Youth World Championships bronze medallist Sofiane Oumiha who has suffered what was only the fourth loss of his career. The Irish Lightweight (60kg) also won the decision in the final against Italy's Fabio Introvaia following their tied 16:16 contest.

Dario Vangeli has been a member of the Italian national team since 2007 but after some poor performances in the last few years he has found his way back to winning ways in recent months. The 25-year-old Light Welterweight (69kg) boxer advanced to the final of the Gee Bee Tournament where he defeated Russia's Maksim Dadashev in a hectic contest.

Vangeli's teammate, star boxer Vincenzo Mangiacapre, claimed a bronze medal both in the London 2012 Olympic Games and the last AIBA World Boxing Championships. In Helsinki he made his debut in his new Welterweight class. But it was not a successful beginning. He lost early on to Finland's teenager Antti Hietala, who could subsequently not advance to the finals after what was certainly his biggest victory to date. Lithuania's 19-year-old Eimantas Stanionis proved his skills once again and defeated Netherlands' Max Van der Pas in the final of the Welterweight class.

Russia's second gold medal was achieved by Petr Khamukov who triumphed over France's European Championships bronze medallist Adriani Vastine in the semi-final. Following that bout he was also too strong for England's Anthony Fowler for the gold. Italy's Luca Capuano won the second group of the Middleweight (75kg) division in Helsinki after beating Norway's experienced Glodi Eneste by 18:13.

Russia's London 2012 Olympic Champion Egor Mekhontcev was the biggest star of the Gee Bee Tournament. The 29-year-old Light Heavyweight (81kg) boxer defeated Netherlands' Chemistry Cup winner Peter Mullenberg in the semi-final and Latvia's veteran Nikolajs Grisunins for the gold. Due to the high number of competitors in the second group of the division, Australia's newcomer Dylan Hardy strolled to gold against Finland's Ville Hukkanen.

Estonia's only gold medal was secured by Rain Karlson who is the younger brother of the Baltic nation's most successful boxer, Ainar. The Estonian Heavyweight (91kg) boxer defeated Finland's Tomi Honka who had previously eliminated France's Abdoulaye Diane and Australia's star AIBA Junior World Champion Jai Tapu Opetaia. The last gold medal of the competition was taken by Russia's Maksim Babanin who stopped Ireland's Dean Gardiner in the second round.