Decorated Kazakh boxer Makhmud Sabyrkhan made a confident start at the 20th Summer Asian Games in Japan, the website infohub.kz reports.
Thanks to his high ranking, the athlete began his campaign in the 55 kg weight class at the round of 16, where he faced Iran's Mehdi Kazemi.
The bout went the full three rounds and was dominated throughout by Sabyrkhan. In the second and third rounds, he sent his opponent to the canvas once each.
In the end, the Kazakh won by unanimous decision. All five judges scored the fight overwhelmingly in his favor — 30:25 or 30:26.
Sabyrkhan has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Games. In the next round, he will face Shin Jae-yong of South Korea.
The Kazakh is World Boxing's 2025 Boxer of the Year. Under the organization's banner, he won the world title last year. He claimed another world championship in 2023 under the IBA.