SKILLFUL BOXING EXPECTED IN BERTAL, AKBAS 54KG FINAL
A classic, technical and probably clinch-free boxing is in the offing between two equally matched bantamweight boxers in today’s (March 16) finals of Women’s World Championships in Serbia.
Africa’s only hope for gold Morocco’s Widad Bertal battles Turkey’s Olympic Games silver medallist and 2022 champion Hatice Akbas in what promises to be a skillful battle of wits, art and predatory acumen.
The Turkish southpaw is an eagled-eyed stylish boxer with superb timing; so is Bertal who can also switch to southpaw stance to further confuse her opponent. The Moroccan is a smooth operator with a probing jab and could decide on a non-stop flurry of punches to spoil Akbas’ rhythm and annoy her too with her ring antics.
Whichever approach she decides to adopt, Bertal, facing the toughest ever opponent so far, must be wary of rushing aimlessly at her opponent lest she walks into her snapping left cross but luckily enough she’s not a big puncher.
The 25-year-old Bertal’s rise started at the 2022 AFBC Men’s and Women’s African Championships in Maputo, winning a bronze medal at bantamweight.
She has now made her presence felt in Morocco’s national team, twice winning gold in the Africa Championships and African Games in Accra and a quarter-final placing at the Paris Olympics.
Bertal is the only survivor of the 26 African boxers who entered Women’s Worlds in Serbia.
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