Cirkovic, Kuluhova Defend European Boxing Titles in Sofia

Sara Cirkovic didn’t waste time on the usual post-fight cliches. The moment she pulled off her gloves, her mind was already on 2028. “I am very, very happy, another push to keep going, and we’re heading toward a medal in Los Angeles,” she told Arena Sport, while the arena in Sofia was still emptying out after the night’s last bout.

A few days ago we reported how Cirkovic had already secured a medal at the European Championship with a win over her Turkish opponent. On Friday, September 25, the sequel arrived, and it was twice as good as anyone in Belgrade dared to hope. Cirkovic and her teammate Kristina Kuluhova defended the European titles they won in 2024, both in finals that were never easy.

In the under 54 kilogram category, Cirkovic fought past two tough names to reach the final. In the quarterfinal she beat Turkey’s Buse Naz Cakiroglu, an Olympic and European champion, by a split decision of 3:2, in a bout whose outcome was in doubt until the final round. In the semifinal she faced Russia’s Anastasija Kol and got past her too. In the final she stood across from Finland’s Pila Kaivo Oja and defended the gold she had first won in front of a home crowd in Belgrade.

Kristina Kuluhova did similar work in the under 60 kilogram category, against a different set of opponents. In the semifinal she eliminated Donjeta Sadiku, and in the final she once again faced France’s Stelin Grosi, whom she had already beaten earlier in the season at the Mediterranean Games, also by split decision. In Sofia the decision was split again, but this time clearer: Kuluhova controlled the distance for most of the fight and was sharper in the exchanges.

While Cirkovic and Kuluhova were celebrating gold, the rest of the national team was not far behind. Rastko Simic reached the final in the under 80 kilogram category but was stopped there, losing to Russia’s Cirav Asalajev and taking silver, his second European medal after the silver he won in Belgrade in 2024. Milena Matovic stopped in the semifinal of the under 70 kilogram category, where England’s Santel Rid got past her, but the bronze still went to her, her second in a row after the one from 2024.

Add up all four names and the tally from Sofia reads: two golds, one silver and one bronze for Serbian boxing at a single championship. Few national teams in this sport can claim a result like that from one tournament, and Serbian boxing has now managed it two times running, with the same core of boxers who won their titles back in Belgrade.

Cirkovic’s next stop, by her own account, is no longer Europe. The next big date on her calendar is Los Angeles 2028, and the Olympic medal she says this gold from Sofia is just one more push toward.