Page 42 - Boxing News Magazine (January 2020)

AMATEURS

VESTEDINTEREST Meet the personalities
at the heart of the sport
With JOHN DENNEN

13 OF THE BEST

Photos: ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS/IVAN ALVARADO

PURE QUALITY:
Andy Cruz will be
hard for anyone to
beat in 2020

MEN They’ll be led into the campaign by the time for Walker now to take the limelight.
In every reigning Olympic and World flyweight
champion Shakhobidin Zoirov. 63kgs: ANDY CRUZ (Cuba)
Olympic 52kgs: SHAKHOBIDIN ZOIROV While some of Cuba’s excellent team are
category, John (Uzbekistan) 57kgs: KURT WALKER (Ireland) getting increasingly long in the tooth for
THE boxers listed here are the men and The weight divisions changed between the electric pace set over three rounds
Dennen picks women who could shape the amateur the European Games and the World of amateur boxing, Andy Cruz is coming
out the boxers boxing year ahead, the ones that we’re championships last year, incredibly late into his own. He is a brilliant talent to
who could picking to watch through the Olympic in the Olympic cycle for such a major watch; fast, clever and hard to hit, as well
qualification events over the coming alteration. Kurt Walker, after winning the as performing with complete confidence.
shape the year months and ultimately at Tokyo 2020. European Games at 56kgs had to move In the new 63kgs division he will be the
ahead The first qualifier is the Asia/Oceania up for the Worlds. The new division man to beat.
event in Wuhan, China, that begins on will have a select few moving down
February 3. For the last decade or so from lightweight, so bantams have to 69kgs: SEWONRETS OKAZAWA
Kazakhstan have been particularly strong make adjustments. Ireland have a proud (Japan)
in this region. But the Uzbek team was Olympic tradition, but with stars like The host nation does get a set number
highly impressive at the last Olympics. Michael Conlan excelling in the pros, it’s of places so there will be Japanese

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