DBV trio of Maxi Klötzer, Nikita Putilov and Leonie Müller deliver at the World Championships in Liverpool – the hope of medals lives on.
Thrills and spills in England: For the DBV team, the weekend at the World Championships in Liverpool brought light and shade. On Friday, cruiserweight Ammar Abduljabbar (≤85 kg) had to pull out against Ukrainian Danylo Zhasan – four of the five judges saw Zhasan ahead, meaning Abduljabbar was out.
Late in the evening, super heavyweight Nikita Putilov (>90 kg) set the first exclamation mark with a clear 5:0 points victory over Dominican puncher José Augustin Triset. With clean footwork, Putilov avoided the open exchange of blows and thus stuck exactly to the game plan set out by the coaching team. “Two weeks ago I still had a slight cold, and that was still noticeable today. Nevertheless, it was a good start,” said Putilov in the interview. Next stop: the round of 16 today, Monday, against the Uzbek Jakhongir Zokirov – a real slog.
Three hot irons
Maxi Klötzer (51 kg) followed suit on Saturday. In the end, the score was 3:2 on points against the brawny southpaw Venelina Poiptoleva from Bulgaria. Klötzer boxed in a very tactically disciplined manner and ultimately advanced to the round of 16 by a very narrow margin. This will take place on Tuesday, 09.09., against Yi-Xuan Guo (TPE). Things went less well for Magomed Schachidov (70 kg). He clearly lost 0:5 against Frank Martínez Bernad from Spain. After a strong first round, he lacked the energy to keep up the pace following a recent illness.
Sunday was Leonie Müller’s (70 kg) big day: After a walk-through in the round of 16, she gave Darianne Hernández (MEX) no chance in the round of 16 and progressed unanimously. The highlight was a left hook that briefly sent the Mexican to the floor. Müller is now through to the quarter-finals, and another win would secure bronze.
Outlook: This Monday, Tatjana Obermeier, Yasse Cissé and super heavyweight Putilov will go for their quarter-final tickets. On Tuesday, Klötzer and Müller will be looking to add to their tally.
Text by Robin Josten