▪️Morocco and Senegal are the only two countries from Africa which won medals in the Bangkok tournament
▪️Central Asian rivals, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan establish total dominance with Uzbek placing nine boxers in the finals and Kazakh eight
March 15, 2026
The hopes of a vibrant contingent of African boxers at the 2026 World Boxing Futures Cup in Bangkok faded in the final stages of the competition, as the continent failed to advance athletes to the gold medal bouts following a hard-fought campaign.
While early tournament days showed promise—with seven African fighters securing victories in preliminary action—the stiff competition from Asian and European powerhouses ultimately halted their progress.
All the four semi-finalists in action on Saturday, March 14, 2026, were eliminated with Morocco and Senegal the only two African countries winning medals.
In the first session semis, Senegal’s lucky qualifier Mariame Sow put up a gutsy performance in the middleweight class before the referee stopped the fight in the second round against Uzbekistan’s Asaloy Bakhtiyorova. In men’s light-middleweight, Morocco’s Marouane Jaafri proved no match for Kazakhstan’s Bibarys Ashirbay succumbing to a 5-0 defeat.
The second session semis saw two more Moroccans, welterweight Aya Essoubai and flyweight Rihab Hamdoune stopped by Lauryne El More of the USA and India’s Chandrika Bhoreshi respectively.
The tournament, acting as a crucial qualifier for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal, witnessed significant drama, particularly for Senegal.
Despite a disastrous outing in which all the 15 boxers lost their fights, the West African nation medalled through middleweight Mariame Sow who sneaked to the semi-finals because her weight class had only four contestants.
Africa was represented by 10 countries. For all their dominance in the earlier stages, Algeria and Egypt are among the eight African countries returning home empty-handed. Others are Kenya, Botswana, Mauritius, Equatorial Guinea, Benin and Mauritius.
Kenya, like Senegal, did not register any victory. All the four boxers, Sonia Atieno, Ellah Demesi, Brian Arianda, and Phelix Ochieng were beaten in their first fights with rising giant Ellah Demesi the most impressive among the four Kenyans.
The dream of reaching the final match proved elusive for the remaining African fighters in the quarter-finals and semifinals of the tournament.
Twelve African boxers were in the quarters but only three Moroccans advanced to the semi-finals with nine boxers falling by the wayside. The nine included seven from North Africa and two from Sub-Saharan Africa, Kenya’s African Youth Games bronze medallist, Sonia Atieno and Senegal’s African Youth Games silver medallist Soda Faye. The elimination of the nine African boxers in the quarters increased to 58 the total number of African boxers out of the tournament.
That there’s no African boxer in the finals highlights a steep learning curve for the African boxers and food for thought for the leaders in charge of the sport.
Despite the losses, the tournament provided crucial experience for the young African pugilists as they build toward the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Senegal.
The championship, held from March 8-15, 2026, at the Huamark Indoor Stadium in Bangkok, saw over 450 boxers from 78 nations competing, with the ultimate spotlight falling on Central Asia boxing rivals, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
The two giant boxing nations established absolute dominance at the 2026 World Boxing U19, turning the finals into an intense Central Asian rivalry. Uzbekistan led the charge by placing nine boxers in the finals, while Kazakhstan followed closely with eight, dominating the tournament’s overall competition. USA placed five and India four in the finals to take place on March 15, 2026.
The finals will therefore be a pitched battle between the Central Asia bitter rivals Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Uzbek boxers upstaged Kazakh in the recently held 77th edition of Strandja Memorial Cup International Tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria.
