2026 Israeli Amateur Championships

Winner	Result	Opponent
Super Heavyweight, 90+
Yan Zak	WO	Arman Malkan
Mahmoud Naarami	WO	Arthur Abramov
Yan Zak👑	Dec	Mahmoud Naarami
Heavyweight, 90
Ariel Prilutski	Dec	Mohamad Shlabani
Ariel Prilutski 👑	RSC 2	Oleg Berkovich
Cruiserweight, 85
Yonatan Barashi 👑	RSC 2	Alex Karchevski
Light Heavyweight, 80
Nikita Padi	Dec	Jade Owolo
Ron Yaer	?	Shelleshevet Gerzef
Nikita Padi	Dec	David Bazov
Daniel Ilyushonok	RSC 2	Ron Yaer
Daniel Ilyushonok👑	Dec	Nikita Padi
Middleweight, 75
Ahmad Jbarin	Dec	Kobnat Netgoko
Yosef Barbor	Dec	Edward Milnikov
Ahmad Jbarin	Dec	Yosef Barbor
Khalid Alzbarga	Dec	Mohamad Magrabi
Ahmad Jbarin 👑	Dec	Khalid Alzbarga
Junior Middleweight, 70
Tomer Benny	WO	Benny Nizard
Mohamad Wagih	Dec	Abd-al Rahman Isa
Bogdan Loptin	Dec	Adham Kayouf
Igor Novikov	Dec	Basel Tuma
Tomer Benny	Dec	Mohamad Wagih
Igor Novikov	Dec	Bogdan Loptin
Tomer Benny 👑	Dec	Igor Novikov
Welterweight, 65
Ahmad Shtiwi	RSC 2	Sagev Rhamim
Ahmad Shtiwi	Dec	Ali Shaon
Adrian Warwar	RSC 2	Ben Rafael
Ahmad Shtiwi 👑	Dec	Adrian Warwar
Lightweight, 60
Matan David	RSC 2	Roe Bazov
Iurii Lapchevisky	Dec	Boaz Finkel
Abdullah Rahel	Dec	Idad Totando
Iurii Lapchevisky	Dec	Matan David
Abdullah Rahel	Dec	Matar Samuel
Abdullah Rahel 👑	Dec	Iurii Lapchevisky
Bantamweight, 55
Farid Harish	Dec	Tom Samuel
Mike Tayber	Dec	Eyal Pinto
Farid Harish 👑	Dec	Mike Tayber
Flyweight, 50
David Zakhari 👑	RSC 2	Ofek Dotan
Lightweight, 60
Myriam Lahmi 👑	Dec	Aria Fain

Recap

Yan Zak, a 5-0 pro, won yet another national title. In preparation for his fight against Sadiki Maroy this Saturday, he treated the finals like a sparring session. Others with pro experience didn't fare as well. Benny Nizard and Arthur Abramov, both 1-0, withdrew before fighting. Alex Karchevski, also 1-0, was thoroughly outboxed by Yonatan Barashi. Another pro, Ahmad Shtiwi (9-0, 7 KOs) used infighting to win the welterweight title.

Among the amateurs, David Zakhari, Ahmad Jbarin, and Abdullah Rahel stood out. Flyweight champion Zakhari looks like a young David Alaverdian with his feints, jukes, and ability to find odd angles. Jbarin bounces around the ring dictating the action, but he's not afraid to get rough either. Rahel is a slickster with a smart jab and precise counters.

Two fights stood out. The first was a lightweight semifinal bout between Alaverdian protégé, Matan David, and stylist Iurii Lapchevisky. Though both are skilled boxers, they treated the fans to an all-out brawl. Neither won the lightweight title this year, but both 19 year olds are quite promising.

The second fight came in the junior middleweight final. A bloodied Igor Novikov staggered southpaw Tomer Benny several times. Benny ultimately got a disputed decision and won the national title.

2025 Israeli National Amateur Championships

It's time to be bullish about Israeli amateur boxing. The national championships, which took place on a basketball court in Lod this past week, was littered with pugilistic talent.

Nothing exemplifies that point better than Alex Karchevski's early round exit this year. The 33 year old light heavyweight is a multi-division national champion and is 1-0 as a pro. But he fell to Rony Partouche in a highly-skilled battle. Karchevski kept his guard high and tight, looking for openings to unleash power shots. Partoushe used fluid combinations, picking his punches well, on route to a quality upset victory. But the 80 KG division in Israel is such that Partoushe lost in the next round of the tournament.

International stalwarts Yan Zak, Daniel Ilyushonok, and Miroslav Kapuler were also present in the ring. The 27 year old Kapuler is perhaps the most successful Israeli amateur boxer of his generation. Now a middleweight, he won the national title in a grueling fight against Ahmad Jabarin. Kapuler's 3-0 as a pro, but hasn't fought for pay in over three years. Fans of Jewish boxing would love to see the slick intelligent boxer back as a prizefighter.

Yan Zak had the most impressive performances in the tournament. The 25 year old heavyweight, who has had a number of successes on the international stage, stopped each of his three opponents. If he goes pro, he would instantly be a highly rated prospect in the cruiserweight or heavyweight divisions. Fans hope he goes in that direction soon.

Ilyushonok, a light heavyweight born in 2002, is a little younger than Kapuler and Zak and needs just a little more seasoning before jumping into the pro ranks. But he has all the tools to go a long way, particularly length and power.

Cruiserweights David Bazov, a 21 year old southpaw who nearly went pro in 2023, and Arik Prilutsky, who is younger and bigger than Bazov, fought in a competitive final at 86 KGs. Prilutsky scored a knockdown in the first, but was bloodied in that round. Bazov boxed, landing many sneaky right hooks in a rough fight that was fought at a high level. Bazov was awarded the victory, much to Prilutsky's chagrin.

Tomer Benny, a southpaw welterweight, flirted with the pro ranks last year. The 20 year old dominated his first fight, but was badly cut in the semifinal. That should put his pro debut on hold for a while until he heals. Igor Novokov eventually won the gold.

Another Benny, Benny Nizard, fared the same fate in the junior middleweight final. The former French national champion is 1-0 as a pro. He relocated to Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks. The 20 year old southpaw was cut by an accidental butt when his taller opponent leaned into him in the second round. The fight was stopped and the victory was awarded to his opponent, Muhammad Isa. Afterwards, Nizard teased an upcoming announcement about his pro career.

Shlomo Niazov, a 1984 Olympian with a pro record of 4-1, graced the fans and boxers with his presence.

Israeli boxing is in need of funding and hopefully some deep-pocketed benefactors will see the opportunity for the sport to grow in the country. The tournament is neither streamed nor televised. Exposure will only inspire the next generation. National champs don't automatically get to fight in international tournaments because of a lack of funding. They miss out on a chance to improve against better boxers. This needs to be corrected for Israeli boxing's future.

Unfortunately, the Israel Boxing Association is still affiliated with the corrupt International Boxing Association (IBA). The IBA was suspended from running the boxing tournament at the 2020 Olympics and subsequently banned for repeated corruption. A new- hopefully less corrupt- organization called World Boxing hopes to take up the mantle and keep the sport in the Olympics. The Israel Boxing Association should recognize which way the winds are blowing and change course.

Year in Review: 2024

This year was defined by young prospects in the early stages of their careers. Yonatan Landman started his 7-0 with 7 KOs this year. Joshua Feldman went 3-0 with 3 KOs. David Malul scored two knockout victories to get his career rolling. Daniel Ivanovski went 2-0 with two KOs to start his career. Benny Nizard and Doron Zinman both won their debuts. The oldest of these prospects is just 23 years of age. It's an exciting time to be a fan of Jewish boxing!

More established Jewish boxers didn't see much action in 2024. Cletus Seldin won his one fight back in March. Odelia Ben Ephraim dropped her two fights, both for titles. For others, it was a case of canceled fights.

The Jewish Boxing Blog not only covered the current scene, but also looked back at several past Jewish boxers. They include Phil Lolosky, Joey Silver, Stuart Finer, Mushy Callahan, Willie Jackson, Joey Kaufman, Haim Zilberschmidt, Mike Clancy, and Soldier Bartfield. The JBB also provided an overview of Jewish boxers in China.

The JBB conducted some memorable interviews with Ira Berkow, Lev Jackson, and David Malul. Books reviewed this year include Then the World Moved On, The Promise of Women's Boxing, Smash Hit, Murder on Federal Street, and The Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame.

A special thank you to the readers of The Jewish Boxing Blog and to the supporters on Buy Me a Coffee. I'd also like to publicly thank the boxers who took the time to offer their insights throughout the year. 

Benny Nizard Wins Pro Debut

Junior middleweight Benny Nizard won his pro debut by unanimous decision against Avend Yassin at Palais des sports Marcel Cerdan in Levallois-Perret, France. The former French amateur champion displayed impressive ability during his first fight.

Nizard, a southpaw from Paris, slid through the ropes to wild applause. When the bell rang, Yassin, a 33 year old from Ploufragan, started the fight as a southpaw. Nizard flicked a jab for show and smacked an overhand left against Yassin's cheek just as the contest commenced. Yassin quickly turned orthodox and remained that way for the rest of the bout.

Amid raucous chants of "Nizard! Nizard!" Benny continued to use his jab as a distraction in order to land straight, overhand, and looping lefts. When Yassin got too close for comfort on one occasion, Nizard shouldered him to the canvas. Benny slipped one shot and came back with an intelligent left to the body. He later landed a stunning combination while Yassin was trapped in the corner. He finished the round with two lefts, turning with Yassin as the latter tried to get out of dodge.

It was a brilliant opening round of his career.

The pace slowed a bit in the second. With thirty seconds left in the round, the two fighters exchanged shots with Benny getting the better of it. Nizard had the faster hands and threw his punches with more conviction, which convinced Yassin to avoid a firefight and keep his hands home.

Nizard introduced his right hook in the third round. Yassin was trapped in the corner when a big overhand left crashed into face. The skilled Parisian finished one combination with a left to the body, later landed a check right hook and quickly got out of harm's way, and finished the round alternating between the head and body with that back hand.

The beginning of the fourth round looked like much of the same. Nizard snapped back Yassin's head early and then touched him with lefts up and down to set up his right hook. But Yassin not only showed courage and toughness, he refused to quit. A hard right to Benny's body encouraged Avend to press forward with a body attack. Nizard ended the fight strong though. He connected with a short counter left and finished with a harmless jab that set up a damaging straight left.

Nizard has clearly been taught well by trainer Mike Cohen. Benny disguised his offense with deceptive upper body movement and has a creative variety of combinations for such a young fighter. Defensively, he kept his head off the line effectively. But it's important to keep expectations reasonable and give Benny time to develop.

At times he lunged in when throwing his left from the outside and was slow to bring that hand back after launching it. Against a better opponent, the southpaw would be susceptible to the counter right. Beginning midway through the third round, he kept his hands down in spots because he felt confident of victory, but perhaps he should have kept his foot on the accelerator .

Any minor criticism aside, it was a magnificent debut. The Jewish Boxing Blog scored the fight the same as all three judges, 40-36 for Nizard, who weighed 159 pounds. He's now 1-0. Yassin, who was 153.5, falls to 1-1-1.

Nizard (left) and Yassin

Benny Nizard to Make Pro Debut

Junior middleweight Benny Nizard is scheduled to make his professional debut on March 9 at Palais des sports Marcel Cerdan in Levallois-Perret, France. He will face Avend Yassin, a 33 year old with a 1-0-1 record.

Nizard is a 19 year old from Paris. The two-time French amateur champion is the son of Stephane Nizard, a popular boxer in Paris during the 1990s. Benny had his first amateur fight at 15 years old and has fought out of Maccabi Paris under the tutelage of Michael Cohen.

After winning the French amateur title late last year, he has been living in Israel the past couple of months. A southpaw, Benny won't have to cut much weight to make the junior middleweight limit. He typically walks around between 160 and 165 pounds.

Yassin is a tough opponent for Benny's pro debut. Born in Iraq, he took up boxing in 2013 in France. Yassin is from Ploufragan and trained at the nearby Plérin Boxing Club. A veteran of 45 amateur bouts, he currently owns a couple of men's hair salons in addition to his boxing exploits.

On September 29 last year, Yassin fought fellow debutant Dylan Coquillant to a draw in a four-rounder. On December 9, he beat Miguel Dumail by majority decision.

Nizard-Yassin will be promoted by Y12 Boxing and is scheduled for four rounds.