BAKU, Oct 7: Ukraine’s fighters dominated Friday’s action at the amateur world championship here with all five of the country’s semi-finalists making it through to the finals.

Vasyl Lomachenko in the lightweight, Denys Berinchyk in the light welterweight, Taras Shelestyuk in welterweight, Ievgen Khytrov in middleweight and Oleksandr Usyk in heavyweight all won their semis to give their team a solid chance to top the medals table.

Beijing Olympic light flyweight champion Zou Shiming of China meanwhile eased into the deciding bout with a confident 15-8 win over Russia’s fourth seed, David Ayrapetyan.

In the final he will face this year’s Asian champion, Jong Hoon Shin of South Korea, who upset reigning world champion, Mongolia’s Serdamba Purevdorj, 20-11.

The flyweight category favourite, European champion Misha Aloyan of Russia, confirmed his status beating US boxer Rau Shee Warren 17-13 to meet Wales’s European champion Andrew Selby, who outclassed Jasurbek Latipov of Uzbekistan 21-15.

Cuba’s Lazaro Alvarez Estrada, the bantamweight cadet world champion and Pan-American qualifying tournament winner, won his last semi-final bout with Tadjikistan’s Anvar Yunusov 18-13.

England’s Luke Campbell saw off Irishman John Joe Nevin 12-12 courtesy of the referees decision in the other semi-final. In the lightweight, Ukraine’s Olympic champion and defending world champion Lomachenko outscored Italian top seed Domenico Valentino 17-11 for a place in the final.

He will face Pan-American champion Yashiel Toledo of Cuba, who eliminated Kazakhstan’s Gani Zhailov 21-9.

In the light welterweight category experienced English fighter Thomas Stalker, two-time European championships’ silver medallist, failed to resist a hail of punches thrown by Ukraine’s Berinchyk, losing his bout 31-18.

In the final the 23-year-old Berinchyk will take on Brazilian fighter Everton Lopes dos Santos, who confidently outclassed Vincenzo Mangiacapre of Italy 16-7.

Kazakhstan’s welterweight pugilist Serik Sapiyev earned a commanding 8-2 advantage in the first round of his bout with Lithuania’s Egidijus Kavaliauskas, forcing his rival to retire.

In the final Sapiyev will face Ukraine’s Shelestyuk, who battled into the final through a tough bout with India’s Krishan Vikas 15-12.

Japan’s surprise middleweight semi-finalist Ryota Murata, who upset the world champion Abbos Atoev in his campaign-opening bout here, gained a final spot with a solid 24-11 win over Brazilian Esquiva Falcao Florentino.

In the second semi-final Ukraine’s Khytrov and Bogdan Juratoni of Romania began trading punches from the start. Khytrov was more precise and powerful to knock his rival out 1min 25sec into the second round.

Cuba’s team skipper Julio De La Cruz Peraza battled into the final through a tough bout with the reigning world champion Egor Mekhontsev, Russian team captain, winning 21-15.—AFP