Armenian Sports News

Hovhannes Bachkov made a statement on Saturday.

The Armenian boxer defeated Azerbaijani boxer Javid Chalabiyev via split decision (4-1) in the Round of 16 of the lightweight bracket to advance to the quarterfinals in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Bachkov started slow in the fight as four of the five judges awarded the first round to Chalabiyev, who came out aggressively at the start of the bout. But Bachkov bounced back in the next two rounds. He won the second round unanimously and won the third round, 4-1, to win the match, which was highly anticipated because of the tense political relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Bachkov’s goal is far from over. He now must face Uzbekistan’s Elnur Abduraimov in the quarterfinals, which is set to take place on August 3.