Chaloyan and Garboyan reach quarterfinals of 2026 European Boxing Championships

The fourth competition day of the 2026 European Boxing Championships took place in Sofia on September 20. Six members of the Armenian national team entered the ring, with two of them claiming victories and continuing their medal campaigns.

The main successes of the day came from Davit Chaloyan (+90 kg) and Rudolf Garboyan (50 kg), who both advanced to the quarterfinals.

Chaloyan confidently defeats Ukrainian Olympian

In the +90 kg round of 16, Olympic participant Davit Chaloyan faced another Olympian, Ukraine's Dmytro Lovchynskyi.

The Armenian boxer delivered a confident performance and won by unanimous decision, 5-0. The judges scored the bout 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28.

Chaloyan will face a major test in the quarterfinals on September 22, when he takes on world champion Davit Surov of Russia.

Garboyan wins by split decision

In the 50 kg round of 16, Rudolf Garboyan faced Portugal's Leandro Almeida.

After three rounds, the Armenian boxer earned a 3-2 split-decision victory. Three judges awarded Garboyan all three rounds, scoring the contest 30-27, while the other two scored it 28-29.

Garboyan will face David Zahari of Israel in the quarterfinals on September 22.

Manasyan and Sahakyan eliminated

Narek Manasyan (90 kg) was unable to advance beyond the round of 16. The Armenian boxer lost to Turkey's Emre Yasar by unanimous decision, 0-5.

Manasyan leaves the European Championships in Sofia with one victory.

The tournament also came to an end for Artur Sahakyan (65 kg). In a very close round-of-16 bout, the Armenian lost by a 2-3 split decision. The judges' scorecards read 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, 28-29, 27-30.

The decision was controversial, with two judges giving Sahakyan the victory while the other three sided with his opponent. In the previous round, the Armenian representative had defeated an Italian boxer.

Two more Armenian representatives were eliminated from the women's competition on September 20 — Lusya Avetisyan (54 kg) and Ani Muradyan (+80 kg).

Six Armenian boxers remain in medal contention

After four days of competition, six Armenian boxers are still in contention at the European Championships in Sofia:

• 50 kg, quarterfinal: Rudolf Garboyan vs David Zahari (Israel)
• 60 kg, round of 16: Artur Bazeyan vs Giuseppe Canonico (Italy)
• 75 kg, round of 16: Marat Mikaelyan vs Panayiotis Roidos (Greece)
• 80 kg, round of 16: Artush Hovhannisyan vs Pavlo Illiushа (Ukraine)
• +90 kg, quarterfinal: Davit Chaloyan vs Davit Surov (Russia)
• Women's 65 kg, quarterfinal: Elida Kocharyan vs Andra Nicoleta (Romania)

The next bouts involving Armenian boxers at the European Championships in Sofia are scheduled for September 21 and 22.