Exactly three years ago, Montenegrin boxing broke a fast of more than three decades without a medal in the junior age at the biggest competition - Milovan from Podgorica - Mića Sekulović won the European bronze in Kaposvar, Hungary. Ten days earlier, Montenegro received its first WBC world champion.
"If something happens once it can be by chance, twice is not a coincidence and it will happen again", wrote the cult Yugoslav writer Meša Selimović. How right was he!?
Meanwhile, in the last three years, Montenegrin boxing received a double European junior champion, the first in the history of European boxing, Budvanka Bojana Gojković, and her clubmate Petar Liješević won the European junior bronze...
And Mića Sekulović less than three years later, at only 18, saw his fellow citizens reverently pronounce his name, because in his fifth professional fight on Independence Square, he demonstrated class, courage, chivalry and an unforgettable fight against a stout, four-year-older light heavyweight from Georgia. Beka Mukulišvilija. The professional record of 18-year-old Mica is five professional victories, all five by knockout!
"I am satisfied with the way I boxed against the Georgian. I did not fight or fight, because in a fight with him 99% of the time I would have been beaten. I boxed according to the tactics we prepared at the headquarters, to strike from a distance and not enter into numerous exchanges. The Georgian is incredibly strong and has a devastating punch, and I had to use my strengths - longer arms and better technique. In the second, I "broke" his right with two connected punches, and at the end of the third round, the left arcade. After the interruption in the 4th round, he sportily admitted defeat and that's boxing, that's why this sport is called a noble skill, and at this age I wouldn't have a chance in a fight with him", Mića Sekulović told "Vijesti".
It is precisely his age, but also the fact that he boxed against a Georgian in his first light heavyweight match, that is the reason why Mica did not go to Minsk for the senior European championship.
"Professional and amateur boxing are quite different, and I didn't have time to prepare for Minsk. After the previous pro match in Splendid, I felt bad because of losing weight, and we decided to move to light heavyweight, and at 18 years old, if I wanted to, I could one victory in Minsk, but getting three top boxers ten years older is, however, an impossible mission. That's why I stayed in the club and in this period I'm working on strength, but also on eliminating some technical deficiencies. Of course, I haven't given up on Olympic boxing and my goal is The Olympic Games in Paris, and until then I need to work on myself. The influence of Olympic boxing is greater on the professional ring, but also from professional fights, benefits can also be drawn for fights in the amateur ring. Here, above all, I mean tactical maturity, but also physical the preparation brought by the effort of boxing in 12 rounds. That's why my next goal is to attack the WBC championship belt until the age of 22, before I start to conquer the Olympic norm.
Sekulović demonstrated his enormous potential at the "Podgorica Trophy", by winning over the winner of the European medal from Bulgaria in 2016, and the confirmation of his talent was a medal at the European Championship in Hungary in the same year.
"I remember the fight against the Bulgarian, and he is one of the three best boxers I met in Olympic boxing. I also had great matches against the French representative two years later in Podgorica, and also against the Russians in Mostar. Those are good memories, but there are also ugly ones like the unfair elimination at the Junior European Championships in Italy, when the judges literally robbed me of victory in a fight with a rival from Ukraine last year. After that, I started professional boxing, because now it is possible to fight on both fronts. However, along with the bronze in Kapošvar, the happiest moment was my first Montenegrin championship title after my debut entry into the ring. I started training at the age of 11 in BK Podgorica and less than half a year later I won my first match in the fight for the Montenegrin champion ", concludes Mića Sekulović.
Bojana is the trademark of our boxing
Montenegro waited 32 years for a European junior medal, from Ratko Drašković's gold to Mica Sekulović's bronze.
In the last two years, two more golds and a bronze were won.
"Much has changed, for the better, of course. Medals have attracted attention, popularity, but incomparably more systematic work in our boxing. Bojana Gojković won four of the most prestigious international tournaments this year before the European Championship, and we used to be able to only fit in some van and to gain experience at tournaments in the surrounding area. And Bojana's spectacular boxing style delights the entire world boxing public, so our competitors have a different and incomparably better status with the judges than before. Our boxing is now recognized and appreciated. If only I had judging criteria as it is now, from the previous period I would certainly have brought a few more medals," said Sekulović.
We don't lack candidates for medals now
In Kapošvar, Montenegro performed with four competitors - three years later in the senior youth class, our selection will have twice as many participants in the fall.
"That's not the only difference, in Hungary three of our boxers lost their first matches, and in Bulgaria in the fall we will have as many as eight quality boxers fighting for medals. By expanding the base, our boxers got better conditions for training and progress in their home clubs. And cooperation between the leading clubs of Budva and Podgorica is fantastic, we often spar together and exchange experiences, and I have two great sparring partners in light heavyweight in Petar Marčić from Budva and Viktor Mihajlović from my club," says Milovan Mića Sekulović.
In addition to Mihajlović, BK Podgorica and coaches Dragan Đurićković, Bako Ademović and Vojkan Radović will be preparing Edin Alković (-57 kg) and Nenad Marković (- 60 kg) for the European Championship throughout the summer.
"There is a lot of work to be done here, along with working with all the talents because now there are all ages. It is difficult after decades of bad work in our boxing, but everything is getting better. In my opinion, we should work even more systematically on popularization, the participation of boxers in as many prestigious events as possible tournaments, but also in fulfilling obligations. I am a BSCG scholarship holder, and no scholarship for 2019 was paid halfway through the year. And the sacrifices are huge, because I had to skip school and take two classes part-time, even though I had excellent results. Training mornings and evenings , and after the success of the introduced and long-term joint representative preparations, they did not leave room for regular attendance of classes. However, I am glad that society also appreciates sports success more and more, so as a representative, my studies in sports management at UDG will be free of charge and aligned with the demanding competition calendar ", concluded Sekulović.
Bonus video:
