Over 100
athletes from 14 countries last week took part in the Golden Belt boxing
tournament hosted by the city of Galati in eastern Romania. Having reached its
43rd edition, the competition bears the name of the late Nicolae
Linca, the only Romanian boxer who became an Olympic champion, in 1956 in
Melbourne. The Golden Belt gala is one of the oldest boxing competitions for
amateurs, the first edition being held in 1972.
Romanian boxers
had a good run in Galati. Nine of them qualified to the finals, and three even
won gold medals. In the women’s 64-kg category, Claudia Nechita defeated
Steluta Duta, also from Romania. In the men’s 51-kg category, Robert Jitaru won
against another Romanian, Vasile Suciu. Finally, in the 91+-kg category, Mihai
Nistor defeated England’s Frazer Clarke. For his remarkable achievement, we
have designated Mihai Nistor Athlete of the Week on RRI.
Mihai Nistor was
born on November 5, 1990 in Podu IIoaiei village, northeastern Romania. He took
up boxing at the age of 15. A year later he became an under-18 national
champion, and two years later he became Romania’s under-21 champion. Over the
years he was several-time national champion in the super heavyweight category.
In 2011, at the European Boxing Championships hosted by Ankara, Turkey, he won
the bronze medal. In 2015, at the European Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria,
he won again bronze. In September that year he became the world champion in the
professional division of the international boxing federation, AIBA, by
defeating Germany’s defending champion Erik Pfeifer by KO in the ninth round.
Nistor was the
only Romanian boxer to qualify to the 2016 Rio Olympics, where he was knocked
out in the round of 16 by Jordanian Hussein Iashaish, following an outrageous
decision of the referees. In the boxing ring, Nistor had sent the Jordanian
boxer to the floor twice.
(Translated by V. Palcu)