Cuba claim six gold, Russia three as the 1st AIBA World Cup Moscow 2008 drew to a close in the Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow, Russia on Sunday. With prize money of $10,000 up for grabs for each champion, and $5,000 for each runner-up it was a healthy pay-day for one of boxing's proudest nations.

Cuba's brilliant performance at this AIBA end-of-year event saw the central American country total eight medals with six gold and two silvers from its eight boxers making for a total prize money pool of $70,000. Russia finished second on the medal tally with three gold, a silver and five bronze while Armenia and the Philippines tied for third with one gold apiece.

Pic: Cuba's Yankiel Leon Alarcon tops the 54kg winner's podium for one of six Cuba champions at the 1st AIBA World Cup Moscow 2008

The inaugural AIBA World Cup which changed from its former team's event format to an invitation based individual competition brought the curtain down on an exhilarating year for AIBA and boxing which featured Olympic qualifying tournaments, the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the Youth World Championships and Women's World Championships in an action packed year.

Cuba will now hold it's head high following an excellent performance in Moscow, during a week which also featured the inaugural AIBA Annual Awards and Forum, where Cuban coach Pedro Roque Otano  claimed the Best Coach of the Year Award.

Here is a run down of the AIBA World Cup Moscow 2008 finals by weight category 

48kg
Harry Tanamor, 31, added a World Cup title to his illustrious career after proving too clinical for the Cuban and Pan American champion Yampier Hernandez winning 15:7. Tanamor, a 2003 World Championship bronze medallist and 2008 President's Cup winner stunned Hernandez, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, with superior speed and execution.

"I am elated to have won this title, it means a lot to me," Tanamor said. "I think I may have caught Cuba on a bad day but I also had to perform well. This is a proud moment for me and I'm now looking forward to going back home to be welcomed by my fans, friends and family to celebrate this victory."

Pic: Harry Tanamor of the Philippines claimed the 48kg title with an exceptional performance in the final

51kg
At 20-year's-old Russia's Misha Aloyan boxed beyond his years to complete an epic journey on his way to his second title of the year. The Czech Grand Prix winner produced an incredible performance to beat Cuban second seed and Olympic Games silver medallist Hernendez Laffita 20:6 in a repeat of the Czech tournament which he won 20:11. It completed an astonishing run which saw Aloyan beat the top seed Vincenzo Picardi (ITA) in the semifinals and concede a total of only 11 points in three bouts.

"It was my second bout against this opponent, so I knew what I had to do," Aloyan said. "I prepared myself psychologically before the bout, so upon entering the ring I was already mentally prepared to win. I decided that I have to win and I did! During the bout I tried to pre-empt, to be faster than him."

54kg
Second-seed Yankiel Leon Alarcon from Cuba lived up to his billing as the favourite in the final by completely outclassing Moldova's Veaceslav Gojan in the final. The match up saw the 2008 Olympic Games silver medallist versus the bronze medallist and Leon Alarcon, 26, proved the pundits right with an awesome display of finesse, conceding only one point in the opening round against 25-year-old Gojan, who had earlier knocked the 2007 world champion and top seed Sergey Vodopyanov out of the competition in the semifinals.

"Everything was fine, I am extremely satisfied with the result," the Cuban national champ said. "What helped me to win is all my hard training and, of course, my trainer. I am very grateful to him. The bout was difficult and exhausting because I had to take on an Olympian who won bantamweight bronze at the Beijing Games but I managed to do the job I had set out to do."

57kg
With both top seeds out of the tournament in the first round, the 57kg division was the only class not to include at least one seed in the final. The second Cuba v Russia bout of the day saw Pan American champion Idel Torriente outlast Russia's national champ Sergey Ignatyev 12:8 with a storming last round which the 22-year-old claimed 4:1.

"This victory is very important for me, it was my dream," Torriente said. "The support of my coach and my team helped me a lot. Now I can concentrate on an exciting 2009 which includes the world championships in Milan."

60kg
One of the closest bouts of the day saw 2007 57kg world champion Albert Selimov of Russia put on a devastating display of power to claim a 12:10 win over top seed Hu Qing of China. Down 9:8 at the end of round three, Selimov overcame a distinct reach disadvantage before warming to the home support, charging home 4:1 in the final round to claim Russia's second gold of the tournament.

"The main difficulty was the fact that my opponent is taller than me and kept me at a distance," 23-year-old Selimov said. "But I was prepared for it, so I trained with taller boxers before the World Cup and everything worked out well. Our coach Alexander Lebzyak took us off the team which competed at the European Championships in Liverpool so that we could rest and prepare for the World Cup here in Moscow, which was very important for us."

Pic: 57kg 2007 world champion Albert Selimov from Russia takes on top seed Hu Qing from China in the 60kg final  

64kg
Cuba's third gold of the day came when second seed Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, completely outclassed Mongolia's MunkhErdene Uranchimeg 16:2. Uranchimeg, who had beaten top seed Alexis Vastine (FRA) in the semis, was no match for the Cuban national champ only scoring a point in the second and final rounds.

67kg
Another gold went Cuba's way when top seed Carlos Banteaux Suarez outclassed 2008 President's Cup champion Dilshod Mahmudov (UZB) 15:4. Banteaux Suarez, the Olympic silver medallist, was ahead 15:4 after the third round before shutting up shop in the last.

"This bout was easier than I expected," the 23-year-old said. "It was interesting to face Mahmudov as he is a tough opponent but I'm very proud of my victory, it's a great honour for me."

75kg
The bout of the day saw Armenia's Andranik Hakobyan sneak home against top seed Alfonso Blanco from Venezuela 10:9. The bout went point for point with the scores at 2:2 after the first, 5:4 after the second, 7:7 after the third before Hakobyan claimed the decisive fourth. The win capped a remarkable tournament for 27-year-old Hakobyan who won his first tournament since 2006 and first AIBA competition in his career.

"I am very happy. I had a very strong opponent, who was a World Championships finalist in Chicago but I was fully prepared for the bout and I knew I was going to win," Hakobyan, whose last tournament success was the Grand Prix Usti nad Labem in 2006. "I would like to thank my coaches for their help and support and of course I would like to thank the audience for their kind support."

81kg
Russia's third and final gold medal came in the only final which featured the two top seeds with the mightily impressive Artur Beterbiev gaining his second successive win over world champion Abbos Atoev (UZB) in 2008. In a repeat of the AIBA World Championships Chicago 2007 final, which Atoev won 20:17, second seed Beterbiev was pumped up from the opening bell, riding on the huge support of the local fans to charge to an 8:2 lead thanks to an 8:0 run in the second round. The 23-year-old increased his lead to 15:3 after the third before closing out the memorable win for his third title of 2008, which also included victory at the Gee Tournament, where he beat Atoev in the fourth round.

"It was not the first time that I faced my opponent so I was fully prepared for the bout in advance," Beterbiev said. "I entered the ring determined to win but I was careful in the first round, trying to figure out my rival (Atoev led 2:0), and then I increased the tempo. I would not like to compare myself to a lion in the jungle but if you are strong, let the others fear.
"I dedicate my victory to Russia and to the Russian people. Everything was great, since I performed at home, in front of the home crowd. The Russian Boxing Federation supports us a lot, both mentally and financially."

Alexander Lebzyak (head coach of team Russia): "I'm satisfied with the results. We were able to end it with an impressive full stop. We counted on four gold medals but we have a new team, which is not 'polished' and 'beaten up' yet. Overall I am content with the Russian boxers performances. The Cuban team of course is very strong, besides they participated in the Olympic Games but I think we did well too, even though it could have been better. But the most important thing is the fact that we have good guys, who only need some fine tuning, but they are something we can work with."

Meanwhile, Cuba won the last of their two gold medals in the 91kg and +91kg with Osmai Acosta Duarte and Robert Alfonso Acea claiming the titles respectively courtesy of walkovers after the Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk (91kg) and Croatia's Marko Tomasovic (+91kg) were ruled out with an injured shoulder and jaw.