Uzbekistan's No. 1 super heavyweight boxer Sardor Abdullayev captured the gold medal at the Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament held in the Uzbek capital city of Tashkent, May 15th to May 21st, defeating a teammate in the final.

The talented Abdullayev won against the former Asian Junior Champion and fellow Uzbek teammate Umidbek Salayev and all but secured his place to represent his country in the upcoming Asian Games.

The Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament was founded in memory of Uzbekistan's beloved coach and trainer Sydney Jackson, who made great contributions to the development of Uzbekistan's boxing life. The tournament was organized by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Uzbekistan and the Uzbek Boxing Federation. This tournament has become an international affair: Kazakhstan, Russia, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Iran and Chinese Taipei have joined the host nation to compete for the medals.

Azamat Ergashev of Uzbekistan added his own fireworks to the excitement of the tournament as he knocked off two-time World Champion Serik Sapiyev of Kazakhstan, 5:1.

Uzbekistan's greatest young hope, 19-year-old Fazliddin Gaibnazarov, upset his teammate, double Olympian and AIBA World Championships bronze medalist Bakhodirjon Sultanov by points in the lightweight final.

Light flyweight Alisher Mahmudov of Uzbekistan competed in the AIBA World Championships last year and reached the final in Tashkent where he faced his younger and talented teammate Jasurbek Latipov.

Daniyar Ustembayev of Kazakhstan went up from 81kg to the heavyweight class this year and was the only foreign boxer to take home a gold medal at the Sydney Jackson Memorial Tournament. Ustembayev knocked off the Asian Games' titleholder, Ali Mazaheri of Iran in decisive fashion.

Rafikjon Sultanov, also of Uzbekistan competed in the 2006 Asian Games and qualified for the Beijing Olympic Games, but he was defeated by Shakhriyor Isakov in the event's final flyweight bout.

Source: The AIBA