European silver medallist Lasha Guruli of Georgia. INSTAGRAM

Russia topped the medal table at the EUBC Elite European Boxing Championships with 11 golds, but at least one of them was obtained in controversial circumstances. Tarkhan Idigov denied two-time world and European silver medallist Lasha Guruli another continental title by winning the men's 67kg final, with the Georgian corner withdrawing their man after two rounds.

Lasha Guruli was pulled out before round three of the final in protest at unfair judging with his decision applauded by the crowd inside Belgrade's Aleksandar Nikolić Špionir Hall.

The 27-year-old, who has qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, came into the competition as the number one ranked fighter in his weight class. He defeated Azerbaijan's Nabi Isgandarov in the quarter-finals before scoring a semi-final win over home boxer Vahid Abbasov.

In the final, he appeared to outclass Russian Idigov but all five judges scored round two in favour of the 23-year-old after four judges gave him the first. That prompted the Georgian corner to remove their man's gloves and end the contest with Guruli shaking his head before the final decision. Boos rang out as Idigov was declared the winner by 'Referee Stopped Contest'.


After the final at the EUBC Elite European Boxing Championships, Guruli posted a letter on social media in which he claimed the Polish judge was the only one to score the fight correctly. He also revealed that he had been offered a "large sum of money" not to contest the final.

"Due to many internal and external conditions, I decided to comment on this matter after the Olympics," he wrote. "One thing I will say is that on the eve of the fight we were offered a large sum of money. They didn't want me to go into the ring. When they got a sufficient response, they left words that they would pursue this fight by all means.

"My strategy was to work from a distance so that I couldn't exchange punches. The Russian lost the first round by a distance, and I didn't think the judges had a chance either, but they still gave him a 4-1 advantage."



He continued, "In the second round I changed my strategy and we exchanged blows, so the round was close on points, although I consider the second round my victory, but they scored it 5-0. Everything became clear to me, so my protest was entirely against the organisation, followed by a corresponding agitation of the observation commission against the organisation.

"There are many more important details that I will definitely talk about after the Olympics. It's about world boxing and the future of boxing," Guruli concluded.