USA 3-2 Argentina, season’s closest match so far:
This tight affair showcased all the excitement that the World Series of Boxing (WSB) stands for. The Miccosukee Casino Resort & Gaming in Miami, Florida staged its first match of the season as the USA Knockouts faced fellow American team, the Argentina Condors. In the WSB’s closest fought match yet this season, fans were on the edge of their seats as the bout went right down to the wire. The USA’s Middleweight Boxer, Caleb Plant was the hero of the hour as his domination of Tomas Andres Reynoso saw the Knockouts take a critical victory in Group A.
The atmosphere rich event showcased the Light Flyweight (46-49kg), Bantamweight (56kg), Light Welterweight (64kg), Middleweight (75kg) and Heavyweight (91kg) categories.
Bout of the match
This section had to go to the match-deciding Middleweight tear up. Going into the bout, the overall score sat at 2-2 and this meant that the outcome of the night was sitting in the hands of the Knockout’s Caleb Plant and the Condor’s Tomas Andres Reynoso. The excitement in the crowd was palpable for the upcoming decider. The bout was an aggressive if not slightly bad tempered affair with Plant proving early on that his regular scoring and well-aimed punches may outweigh the Argentinean’s own offensive capacities. Reynoso lacked cohesion against his stronger opponent and through frustration resorted to dirty tactics half way through the bout, which led to a warning. By the third round, the match was clearly in the hands of the Knockouts’ fighter and the unanimous 3:0 win from Plant led the USA team to the evening’s victory.
Boxer of the match
This was almost certainly the Argentinean Bantamweight Alberto Ezequiel Melian. Despite his team losing the match overall, Melian’s gruelling, hard fought contest over the Knockouts’ Steve Fulton was a brilliant showcase of sportsmanship. The fight was a crowd pleaser with the first two rounds clearly won by Melian. The contest looked close in the third as Fulton fought back; the boxer, who is not usually known for his punches, threw a powerful left hook which led to a standing eight count for the Argentinean. The contest continued in a nail biting fourth round as Melian grew in strength and fought back. After another left hook from Fulton, Melian retaliated to deliver a dangerous right hand that forced Fulton to the ground. This unanimous 0:3 point win to Melian took the Condors score equal to the USA’s, as the match went into the Light Welterweight category sitting at one all.
Wrap up
Knockouts Flyweight Anthony Chacon took an obvious win over the Condor’s Patrick Lourenco after keeping the bout under his control for the full five rounds. Chacon who also ranks sixth in the AIBA World Ranking clearly outshone his opponent in a unanimous 3:0 point win. The Boxer’s lively, smart movements proved too much for Lourenco who lacked accuracy and wasted energy with repeated swipes into the air.
The Light Welterweight division was another clear win for the Knockouts with Luis Romero Alday Jr. proving his stead. Despite having two points deducted for losing his gum shield on four different occasions, the tactical boxer out-gunned the Condors’ Alberto Palmetta in a 3:0 win for the USA. Palmetta clearly struggled with the longer boxing format in the WSB competitions and was exhausted by the end.
In the Heavyweight category, the Condors took a walkover victory following the unfortunate withdrawal of both the first pick and reserve USA Knockouts boxers Josh Taylor and Xuanxuan Wang respectively.
Quote of the match
“The team is coming together, we have a mix of talented athletes. It is a very strong international team, but we have to take one match at a time. We have to use our strategy to line up well against all of our opponents to ultimately reach the Playoffs”, said USA Knockouts General Manager and USA Boxing Executive Director, Anthony Bartkowski
Coming up next
Both the USA Knockouts and Argentina Condors face tough rivals in the Week 3 with away matches against two of the series’ most consistent teams. The Knockouts are up against the Algeria Desert Hawks in Blida and the Condors head to Brovary to take on the Ukraine Otamans.
Poland 0-5 Cuba: the Domadores go top
The Cuba Domadores went top of the Group of Death in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) tonight with a clinical performance over Group B underdogs, the Hussars Poland. The result will crank up the pressure on defending champions, Astana Arlans Kazakhstan who face a difficult away bout tomorrow to an enigmatic Russian team that could well pose serious problems for the Alpha Wolves.
The Flyweights (52kg), Lightweights (60kg), Welterweights (69kg), Light Heavyweights (81kg) and Super Heavyweights (91+kg) graced the canvas for us this evening.
Bout of the match
Sergiy Werwjko of the Hussars took on Yoandi Toirac of the Domadores at Super Heavyweight. This was one of the most competitive bouts of the evening. The Hussars boxer did not look at all out of place in the ring in the opening round. That first round was a tight affair indeed, but the Cuban landed a late combination in the dying seconds to steal it. The bout began to tip in the second however with the Cuban dropping his big Polish opponent with a massive right hand just a second or two before the bell. The Cuban came out looking to finish it and the Pole got a standing eight with just 40 seconds into the 3rd. The Cuban teenager looks dangerous with big right hands and uppercuts and he only got more lethal as his confidence grew. Toirac is perhaps something of a prodigy at just 18 years old. He looked like a mature athlete, winning the bout by TKO against the 25 year old Polish Champion in the third. The emergence of this young boxer amongst so many Cuban stars is why this particular bout had to be highlighted.
Boxer of the match
Mateusz Polski put on a brave performance against the AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013 gold medallist Lazaro Alvarez at Lightweight. Although Alvarez won the bout as expected, the young Pole deserves some credit in defeat. As a southpaw, Alvarez looked comfortable early on, but the Polish national champion also managed to land some good shots to the body and a nice hook to the head in round one. Polski also showed some good head movement throughout the bout, but such is Alvarez’ talent that he was still able to land three or four punch combinations in spite of that. Polski regrouped well during each break and was brave in all rounds. The World Champ however remained sublime and wasn’t really required to get out of fourth gear. Nonetheless, given the calibre of the opponent he was in the ring with, Polski deserves praise for his effort; this was a huge jump up on the career ladder for Polski and for that and the way he handled himself against such a high class opponent, he won our unofficial boxer of the night.
The turning point
Welterweight Arisnoidys Despaigne has a different style from the rest of his Cuban team mates, being far more aggressive and insistent on engaging in tear ups. As his World Championships silver medal attests however, the system works well enough for him and there aren’t many in the Cuban camp who would complain. His Polish opponent Rafal Perczynski was initially awkward to get to though. A tall southpaw with a sneaky jab he made himself troublesome, but the experienced Despaigne was great at cutting the angles off so that he could work the body with his hard hooks. In round four the referee gave the Pole a standing eight count after an overwhelmingly aggressive barrage from Despaigne and unhappy with Perczynski’s response in the following seconds, he called time on the bout giving Cuba an unassailable 3:0 win. The match was theirs.
Wrap up
Flyweight Grzegorz Kozlowski put in one of the better performances for the Hussars against Gerardo Cervantes. Cuba’s World Championships team member started a little slowly, and at first it looked as though we had a fairly even contest on our hands. The situation began to deteriorate for the Polish boxer however as Cervantes started to hit his stride in round two. By round three it began to look like Kozlowski was running out of answers. Cervantes on the other hand was clearly enjoying his work. With three rounds stitched up in succession for the Cuban, it was time for him to shut the match down. The Pole’s style was very upright and square on, which against this particular opponent didn’t do him any favours, and the Cuban was able to cruise to a comfortable victory in the opening bout of the evening.
Pawel Stepien of Poland had a really rough time against Julio Cesar La Cruz at Light Heavyweight. By the end of round two and after ten unanswered punches in succession, AIBA Best Referee & Judge of the year (2013) award winner Gerardo Poggi from Argentina stepped in to give the young Pole a standing eight count. Like a primary school child working on his maths, Poggi was soon counting again and a few seconds after that count, Stepien was literally saved by the bell. It became a question of when rather than if the bout would be stopped and the corner threw the towel in just a few seconds into the 3rd when it became clear that the pressure from the Cuban was not going to stop.
Coming up next
The Hussars Poland face an absolutely crunch match against the WSB bad boys the Azerbaijan Baku Fires. This will probably be the most winnable of matches in an almost impossible group for the resilient Group B underdogs. Cuba meanwhile will take on the mighty Russians at home for the WSB’s first ever trip to Havana. Both matches will take place on December 6 as next week is the rest week, offering the battle weary fighters some much needed respite.
Russia 2-3 Kazakhstan: Arlans are still top dogs
Astana Arlans Kazakhstan showed that they are still the side to beat after a thrilling win against the emergent Russian Boxing Team in St.-Petersburg. The Russians had been tipped in many quarters to be capable of causing an upset here, but it was the Arlans who came away with the victory.
Today the Flyweights (52kg), Lightweights (60kg), Welterweights (69kg), Light Heavyweights (81kg) and Super Heavyweights (91+kg) were showcasing their skills in the ring.
Bout of the match
Flyweight Olzhas Sattibayev of Kazakhstan had a rough WSB debut when he faced up to southpaw Russian double World Champion Misha Aloian. The Champ looked predictably fantastic but the visiting Kazakh boxer was clearly capable. Despite facing such a high calibre opponent, the Arlans boxer didn’t look outclassed at all. In fact his selection, though a surprise on paper, didn’t look quite so crazy once he was in the ring. His hand speed was phenomenal and he didn’t give an inch. The Russian however did not become World Champion as recently as October without good reason, and his own hand speed and distancing was fantastic. With both fighters hands blurring more than a Monet water colour and with a fluid open style on display, this became a spectacular opening bout. The Russian took the first three rounds, leaving the Kazakh boxer to chase, which he duly did showing no fear of his opponent. But Aloian was equal to it and it was he who gave first blood to the hosting Russians taking them to 1:0. Sattibayev however is clearly one to watch for the future.
Boxer of the match
Russian Lightweight Adlan Abdurashidov took on Samat Bashenov in a battle of the veterans. The two orthodox boxers were spectacular. Totally uncompromising, Bashenov was on a mission to even the score in the match. The first round was very tight but Bashenov took it on split decision. In round two, the competitiveness of the bout saw it deteriorate slightly and become a little scrappy, but 2013 AIBA Best Referee & Judge of the Year Mik Basi did a good job to keep it clean. The Russian brought the fight to close range and took the second round, making it one a piece. The bout thereafter was fought at frenetic but Bashenov began himself making use of his excellent left jab to chip away at his opponent. The commentator summed it up nicely, explaining that it was a story of two styles, one (the Russian’s) of elegance, grace and classy boxing, the other of experience, ring craft and tactical work. It was the later which won through in the end. With Bashenov bringing the defending champions level on the score board.
The turning point
Light Heavyweight London 2012 Olympian Danabek Suzhanov of the Arlans took on 22 year old Dmitriy Bivol of Russia. The commentator had just finished saying that the Russians would not allow a young boxer out against such an experienced rival unless he knew what he was doing, when with 33 seconds left in the first round, the Russian boxer landed a classic one two combination to knock the Kazakh boxer down and tie the score 2:2 going into the final round. Although the Arlans did enough to win the bout, the young Bivol very nearly turned the match around in the Russian’s favour.
Wrap up
Welterweight Merium Nursultanov of the Arlans took to the ring against Aleksandr Ivanov of the Russian team. The power seemed to lie with the Kazakh boxer but the skill with Russian. The bout was very intense with the Kazakh taking the opening round. The Russian changed tactics somewhat in the second, making more use of his speed and reach. Nursultanov responded by trying to shut the ring off. The Kazakh used this tactic to totally impose himself and take the win via his excellent work ethic.
Super Heavyweight WSB Veteran Filip Hrgovic took on Sergey Kuzmin of Russia in a key bout to decide not only the result of the match, but also the shape of the group. This was very much a match between a Croatian matador and a Russian bull. Hrgovic, with his 18 bouts so far across three seasons of WSB and only one loss a season, is exactly the kind of guy you want in this situation. The Russian boxer was obviously strong but the Arlans fighter was clearly the better all-round athlete and tactician. The Russian looked better in round three as he gradually began to wear his opponent down. His selection was again testimony to the tactical genius of Arlans head coach Sergiy Korchynsky and Hrgovic took the bout and match for the Arlans to emphatically squash the challenge from the Russians.
Pretenders to the throne they may still be, but the Russians will need a little more luck on their side if they are to take the title from the Arlans this year.
Coming up next
The Arlans take on bottom placed team (at the time of writing), the Mexico Guerreros at home. Though this won’t be as easy as it sounds on paper; the tough Guerreros are still a match for anyone in the group. The Russians meanwhile will become the first team to travel to Havana in what will be a very tough match against the group leaders, the Cuba Domadores.
Azerbaijan 5-0 Mexico: the “Bad Boys” bounce back
The Azerbaijan Baku Fires won an important bout over Group B rivals, the Mexico Guerreros, at home this evening in a key World Series of Boxing (WSB) match which saw the Fires open a three point gap on the Mexicans and Hussars Poland to go fourth in the table. Meanwhile, Russia’s loss today means that Azeri team has also narrowed the gap to just a point on their local rivals.
The Group B battle was contested by the Flyweights (52kg), Lightweights (60kg), Welterweights (69kg), Light Heavyweights (81kg) and Super Heavyweights (91+kg)
Bout of the match
Flyweight Magomed Abdulhamidov of the Baku Fires took on WSB new boy Orlando Huitzil of the Mexico Guerreros. The Azeri boxer worked from a high guard throughout the bout and was exploding out of it to score excellent counters. He made repeated use of a tight, close range right hook which he launched to great affect at the Mexican as a counter attack. The Guerrero would land a blow on Abdulhamidov’s guard and the Azeri would follow the attack back out with his hook. The debutant walked onto that particular shot on multiple occasions as he became increasingly desperate and began to chase the bout. The local boxer clearly won, but the young Mexican was brave and deservedly raised his arms to celebrate his WSB debut at the final gong. He fought a good bout and the crowd acknowledged it warmly. Abdulhamidov however has to be recognised as one of the best boxers of the match.
Boxer of the match
Welterweight Carl Hield is one of the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) success stories. In addition to competing in the AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013 as part of the AIBA Road to Dream program – which supports talented boxers from developing boxing nations – the Bahaman athlete was also picked up by the Mexico Guerreros this summer. At the World Championships he explained that “AIBA really made me who I am today because I’ve been to all the “Road to” training camps. Italy, Baku, Wales. And now I’m here. It’s helping me because I’m the only Elite boxer in my country, so I don’t get decent sparring at home, and the training facilities are really bad so thanks to the AIBA Road to Dream program, I was able to come here two weeks before, get good time with other boxers and get a good training program”. The experience obviously helped Hield as he made his WSB debut against the three season veteran Mohamed Nurudzinau. The Baku Fires boxer was sublime however and used his know-how to take the bout and make it 3-0 to the home side. Nonetheless it was a very positive step for Hield, Bahaman sport and the Road to Dream program.
The turning point
Although only the second bout in the evening, the psychological impact of former Lightweight World Champion Albert Selimov’s win over WSB debutant Luis Daniel Norberto of the Guerreros seemed to have wider implications in the match. The WSB veteran, who has six wins and whose only defeat came at the hands of the great Vasyl Lomachenkno last season, was in total control of the bout from beginning to end and was boxing with his hands down by the second round. His distancing was inch-perfect and was able to evade three and four punch combinations from the Mexican before landing his own at will. Following the Guerreros school of thought, Norberto was really pressing forward despite the fact that he was being picked off for doing so. It was a courageous performance that made for an entertaining bout. Selimov’s uppercut from both hands was outstanding and he landed it on numerous occasions during the bout. In the end he cruised to an easy win.
Wrap up
Light Heavyweight Ramazan Magomedau looked fantastic against Uzbek WSB debutant Boburbek Yuldashev who was turning out for the Guerreros. Although he was fighting a less experienced boxer, Magomedau looked excellent. He fought with his hands low but using fantastic footwork, head movement and a dangerous left jab, he avoided taking any damage. He looked like he was comfortably in another league to his opponent. The Guerreros boxer wasn’t aggressive enough going forward to change the outcome of the bout and in the end it was an easy victory for the Azeri.
At Super Heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov toyed with his Uzbek Guerreros opponent Renat Rahimov before dropping him in the third for a TKO victory. The 2010 World University Champion has had a mixed record in the WSB across three seasons. His record previously stood at 2 wins and three losses so this was an important win for him on a personal level to take his win rate to 50%. To have done so with such style will give him and his team confidence as the season goes on.
Coming up next
Azerbaijan will have a difficult away match to the Russian Boxing Team. The Russian’s who are coming off the back of a home defeat to Kazakhstan will be keen to prevent a repeat, whilst the Fires will be hoping to realign the mid-table pecking order in their favour. That will be one to watch! The battered and bruised Guerreros team, who have failed to win a single bout so far this season will be taking on fellow basement boys the Hussars Poland, with both sides urgently needing to get their campaigns underway.
