Four wins in five bouts: Armenia enjoy successful second day at the 2026 European Boxing Championships

The 2026 European Boxing Championships for men and women continued in Sofia on September 18. Five representatives of the Armenian national team entered the ring on the second day of competition, with four of them claiming victories and remaining in contention for medals.

Artur Bazeyan, Artush Hovhannisyan, Artur Sahakyan and Marat Mikaelyan all won their opening bouts of the tournament. Rafael Hovhannisyan suffered Armenia’s only defeat of the day.

Artur Bazeyan makes confident start to European Championships

In the 60 kg category, Artur Bazeyan faced Greece’s Georgios Pleas in the round of 32.

The Armenian boxer controlled the bout confidently and earned a unanimous decision victory — 5-0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Bazeyan will return to the ring on September 21, when he faces Italy’s Giuseppe Canonico.

Artush Hovhannisyan wins close bout against Turkish opponent

In the 80 kg category, Artush Hovhannisyan was involved in one of the closest bouts of the day. The Armenian faced Turkey’s Sultan Osmanli in the round of 32.

After three rounds, the judges awarded Hovhannisyan a split-decision victory — 3-2 (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29, 28-29).

In the next round, on September 21, the Armenian boxer will face Ukraine’s Pavlo Illiusha.

Artur Sahakyan defeats Italian opponent

Artur Sahakyan, competing in the 65 kg division, secured another victory for Armenia. In his opening bout, Sahakyan defeated Italy’s Giacomo Giannotti by a 4-1 decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 27-30).

Sahakyan’s next opponent will be Austria’s Emin Yildiz. The bout is scheduled for September 21.

Marat Mikaelyan claims convincing victory

In the 75 kg category, Marat Mikaelyan made a successful start to his European Championships campaign by defeating Portugal’s Diogo Semedo.

All five judges awarded the victory to the Armenian boxer — 5-0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28).

Mikaelyan will face Greece’s Panagiotis Roidos in his next bout on September 21.

Rafael Hovhannisyan eliminated from the tournament

In the 85 kg category, Rafael Hovhannisyan faced Germany’s Valeri Walter in his opening bout at the European Championships.

The contest was competitive, but after three rounds the judges awarded the German boxer a 4-1 decision victory. As a result, Hovhannisyan’s campaign at the tournament came to an end.

Armenia finished the second day of competition with four victories from five bouts. Across the opening two days of the European Championships, Armenian boxers have contested nine bouts and won seven of them.

A day earlier, Elida Kocharyan (65 kg), Zhirayr Sargsyan (55 kg) and Narek Manasyan (90 kg) all won their opening bouts.

2026 European Boxing Championships in Sofia: results from Day 1