The past weekend marked two notable occurrences in the local sports scene. Promising Kazakh boxer Meiirim Nursultanov won his bout, securing a contender spot for the WBC champion title, while the men’s national football team won against San Marino and advanced to the last round of the Euro 2024 qualifiers and will compete with Team Slovenia for a ticket to the European Football Championship.
Discover more information about these achievements in the digest by QazMonitor below.
Kazakh middleweight powers his way through to WBC contender status
On November 17, Kazakh middleweight boxer Meiirim Nursultanov secured his 20th victory against Chile’s Julio Alamos, becoming a contender for the WBC world title.
Nursultanov (20-0, 11 KOs) defeated Alamos (16-2, 9 KOs) at the 2023 WBC Convention in Tashkent by a jury's decision. Before the fight, the WBC ranked Nursultanov in second place, behind another Kazakh boxer, Gennadiy Golovkin.
Currently, the WBC champion belt is held by American Jermall Charlo and the title of interim champion by Dominican Carlos Adames.
For Alamos, it is the second defeat in a row. In June, he lost by decision to the Italian Etinosa Oliha (18-0, 8 KOs). The two went to the bout for the IBO belt, which became vacant after Gennadiy Golovkin withdrew from defending the title.
Team Kazakhstan to draw a ticket for Euro 2024 in match with Slovenia
On November 17, the national men’s football team advanced to the last round of the Euro 2024 qualifying by defeating San Marino 3-1.
Kazakh forward Islam Chesnokov scored twice in the match, putting the national team on the scoreboard first in the 19th minute and then again in the 51st. The opposing team, however, didn’t go down without a fight, as Sammarinese defender Simone Franciosi narrowed the score to 2-1, but Abat Aimbetov’s penalty in the 92nd minute sealed the game 3-1 in favor of Kazakhstan.
At present, Kazakhstan and Slovenia both boast 18 points, while the Group H leader, Denmark, sits at 19 points. To secure a spot in Euro 2024, Kazakhstan must defeat Slovenia in the upcoming match on November 20.
