The opening session of the 2015 AIBA World Championships saw some thrilling action in the two rings of the Ali Bin Hamad Arena in Doha. American heavyweight Joshua Temple’s big hitting gave the crowd plenty to cheer, offering a taste of what to expect from the next ten days of elite competition.

The flyweight bouts of Leandro Blanc (ARG) versus Rogen Ladon (PHI) and Cornelis Kwangu Langu (INA) vesus Tomoya Tsuboi (JPN) kicked off proceedings, with both the Asian boxers coming out comfortably on top.

Ladon, who is now scheduled to fight in front of legendary boxing compatriot Manny Pacquiao in Thursday’s afternoon session, was pleased with his start. “I am very happy after the opening bout which is always hard in a big competition and especially in an AIBA World Boxing Championships. I was nervous but tried to keep focussed until the final bell”, he said after the bout.

In the battle of the future stars of AIBA competition, Uzbekestan’s Murodjon Akhmadaliev defeated young Italian bantam weight Francesco Maietta. Azerbaijan’s European Games gold medalist Lorenzo Sotomayor Collazo defeated Canadian Pan-American Games champion Arthur Biyarslanov in a hard-fought contest, while fellow light welterweight Pat McCormack of Great Britain overcame the Moldovan Dmitri Galagot.

In the heavyweight category, the Algerian fans got right behind Chouaib Bouloudinats as he ran out a comfortable winner against Paul Omba Biongolo. In the second bout, American Joshua Temple kicked off his campaign with a serious statement of intent, flooring Pakistan’s Mehmood Hussan twice before the contest was stopped at the end of the first round.

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