Daniil Lozan became the only Ukrainian boxer to reach the semifinals of the WBC Grand Prix in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 22-year-old light welterweight defeated Kazakhstan's Sanatali Toltaev in a technical decision after sustaining cuts from headbutts, while his three compatriots exited the tournament in the quarterfinals.
"The journey continues despite the challenges," one might imagine Lozan saying after advancing against significant odds and suffering multiple injuries during his bout.
The quarterfinal matchups proved difficult for the Ukrainian contingent. Tsotne Rogava, who entered as one of the main favorites in the super heavyweight division, started strong against Bosnia and Herzegovina's Ahmet Krnijich but faded in the second half of the fight. The Odesa-born Georgian boxer, despite his extensive professional and amateur experience, couldn't maintain his early momentum and lost by judges' decision.
Interestingly, this wasn't Rogava's first controversy in the tournament. Many Ukrainian boxing fans believe he should have lost his previous fight against fellow Ukrainian Vitaly Stalchenko, though judges ruled in his favor.
In the middleweight division, Ukraine had two representatives – Dmitry Rybalko and Petr Frolov. Both faced elimination, though in different circumstances. Rybalko, considered the underdog against Canada's Derek Pomerlo, was stopped in the second round after the Canadian found his range and finished the fight.
Frolov showed more promise against Australia's Dylan Biggs but ultimately lost the decision. The Nikolaev boxer suffered from a controversial knockdown ruling and couldn't match his opponent's consistency throughout the bout.
The most dramatic fight involved Lozan, who managed to drop Toltaev in the second round and created numerous problems for his opponent in the third. However, the Kazakh fighter responded with illegal headbutts that caused two cuts – one above Lozan's eyebrow and another on his forehead. When the second cut appeared, the doctor advised stopping the fight.
Since both injuries resulted from headbutts, judges reviewed their scorecards at the moment of stoppage. Lozan secured a majority decision victory with one judge scoring it a draw and advances to face Uzbekistan's Mujibillo Tursunov in the semifinals.
By the way, Lozan has shown remarkable adaptability throughout the tournament, defeating opponents with vastly different styles – from aggressive fighters to mobile boxers and now a counter-puncher. His path to the semifinals has featured a judges' decision, a knockout, and now a technical decision.
Can Ukraine's last standing fighter go all the way? The WBC Grand Prix has already proven full of surprises and challenges for the country's representatives.
