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Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Kapuler Comes Up Short

Miroslav Kapurler Ishchenko lost a decision to Aslanbek Shymbergenov of Kazakhstan in the round of 16 at the 2023 IBA Men's World Amateur Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Shymbergenov was the clear winner on all of the judges' cards.

The first round was chess match with both fighters attempting to get the better foot placement.  took the round with a few clean jabs upstairs. The biggest moment of the second round came when both fighters' heads smashed together. The round was halted four times: twice so the doctor could check Kapuler's cut by his left eye that started after the butt, once when Kapuler's mouthpiece slipped out, and another so Shymbergenov could have his shoe tied.

The Israeli southpaw landed some smart jabs and finished the second with a nifty 1-2, but Shymbergenov deserved to win the round. He landed more jabs and snuck in some crafty short right counters. The repeated- though justified- stops in action may have impacted Kapuler more because he's a rhythm boxer.

Kapuler went for broke in the final round and connected with a big left. But Shymbergenov showed great counter-punching ability and used Kapuler's aggression against him. The veteran Kazakh continued to find a home for his short right counters. With just over a minute to go, Shymbergenov fired a straight right to the face. The referee gave Kapuler a standing eight-count and then walked him over tot he doctor to check on the cut a third time.

To his credit, Miroslav continued to go for the konockout the restof the way, but that isn't his style. He's an intelligent boxer, not a slugger. Two judges had Shymbergenov winning 30-27 while three judges scored the fight 30-26 for the fourth ranked fighter in the light middleweight division. The Jewish Boxing Blog had it 30-27 for the Kazakh.

*****

The IBA is an organization under fire for years of corruption. The IOC has barred it from running the Olympic boxing tournament in '24, and numerous countries have boycotted this year's championships. The IBA has blocked the stream of its fights in the U.S. in retaliation.

Kapuler, 3-0 as a pro, can still compete in next year's Olympics as the IBA's world championships are no longer a qualifying tournament for the Games. The 25 year old southpaw will be able to qualify for the Olympics at the European Games beginning on June 23.

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