Lazarev arrived at these Championships as a relatively unknown but that changed after his second round technical knock-out victory over World Series of Boxing (WSB) star Kyslytsyn.

The Ukrainian Kyslytsyn came into the tournament as a real medal favourite but Lazarev shocked the crowd when he connected with a huge right hand, knocking his opponent to the canvas.

The stunned crowd must have been pinching themselves as Kyslytsyn recovered to his feet only to feel the full force of yet another right hand slamming him back down just a few seconds later.

Igor Lazarev shocked the boxing world today by beating favourite Vyacheslav Kyslytsyn



The Israeli looked as surprised as everyone else by the victory.

"I feel good," he said with a grin.

"I just beat a boxer I've watched competing on TV.

"It's basically the result of the hard work me and my team have been putting in for this tournament.

"My coach and I watched his videos and we noticed that his left hand was always dropping when he fights.

"My trainer told me to use the right hand if it happens. I saw him do it during the round so I tried my right hand.

"When he got up he did it again.

"So I did too."

Today's action in the light welterweight division also saw one of the best bouts of the Championships featuring Germany's Artem Harutyunyan against Sweden's Clarence Bojang.

Harutyunyan, who is rumoured to be joining his brother Robert this year with the WSB German Eagles, was quick out of the blocks, pushing forward at every opportunity.

The Swede showed off some magnificent footwork and quick hands to keep out of the charging German's onslaught and pick him off on the way in.

The German boxer seemed to have the edge in the power stakes and was relentless in his pursuit for a first win.

Even Bojang's willingness to switch from his traditional southpaw stance in order to escape some potentially very dangerous situations was not enough for the Swede, who lost on a split decision.

Artem Harutyunyan connects with a punch against Sweden's Clarence Bojang



Harutyunyan will be happy with the win which see's him through to the next round, along with his brother, who beat Croatian Matteo Komadina in the lightweight division.

"The first fight is always a difficult one, you need a little while to get into it", said Harutyunyan.

"I fought my opponent in the first round of the European Championships as well and he is a tough guy."

Ireland's Sean McComb showed he will be a boxer to watch throughout the competition as he beat Israel's Almong Briga, dropping his opponent after just 20 seconds on his way to victory in the lightweight category.

Briga did well to recover from the early blow and looked dangerous with his overhand lefts.

McComb soon found a way to dodge his opponents blows however and scored a second knockdown with just a second left on the clock.

"He hit very hard over the top, but in between rounds, my coach said to start circling more rather than just stepping back and that's when I started avoiding them. I was a lot more comfortable then," said McComb.

Cuba's Yasnier Toledo Lopez takes on Mohammedalaa Menawi, the first Palestinian to compete in the World Boxing Championships




Mohammedalaa Menawi took on Cuba's Yasnier Lopez at light welterweight to become the first Palestinian ever to compete at these Championships.

It was not an easy draw, however, and after an explosive start from the Cuban, Menawi was looking at a standing eight count within moments.

After a constant and relentless hammering, Menawi's coach threw in the towel with 45 seconds left of the first round.

Though clearly unhappy, Menawi earned the genuine applause of the whole arena, who could appreciate the momentous step he had made for his country in simply stepping into the ring today.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories

October 2013: AIBA World Boxing Championships gets underway in Almatay