The 25-year-old Olympian defeated Armenian Hambardzum Hakobyan 5-0 in the quarterfinals unanimously by the judges after a relentless, fierce fight in all three rounds; likely the most ferocious battle ever seen at the European Championships. In an unprecedented clash that went into three rounds and several complex exchanges of blows from both sides, Luka Plantić shook the strong, aggressive Armenian in the third round and secured a European medal and semifinal spot, reports Gol.hr.
Plantić will box in the semifinals on Sunday, May 29, in the evening program against Serbian Russian Artyom Ageyev.
Luka defeated great fighters from Georgia and Armenia in Yerevan. Until the semifinals, the Russian Ageyev, who fights under the Serbian flag, eliminated Pole Goinski, then the first seed Spaniard Yalidov, and in the quarterfinals, Bulgarian Nikolov. The Russian is an excellent technician; he moves great and hits as a counterpuncher. He is one of many Russian boxers on the Serbian national team led by Russian coaches at the European Championships in Yerevan.
Last year, Luka Plantić competed at the Olympics and was one step closer to the quarterfinals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, as well as at the World Championships in Belgrade – he lost both fights by close, dubious decisions of the referees.
The Sesvete native and member of BK Salona from Solin has so far been the world runner-up in the junior seniors (2014), and in the same year, he won a bronze medal at the Youth Olympic Games in China.
Filip Hrgović won the last medal for Croatia at the European Senior Boxing Championships in 2015.
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