The sports world loves an underdog and in the sport of boxing, fate is a fickle friend where dreams are often built or broken with one punch. This Sunday, the Los Angeles Matadors, will enter the ring with this in mind as they look to turn the tide on their best-of-two playoff series with the Astana Arlans
The LA boxing franchise will try and rally Matador Nation around a feat that on paper seems daunting. Last weekend in Astana (Kazakhstan), the Matadors were defeated 4-1 by the Arlans Two-time Olympian Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio) picked up the lone win against the Arlan fighters.
With their backs against the wall in this World Series of Boxing (WSB) semi-final, the Matadors must win all five bouts if they stand any chance of moving on to the WSB finals to face either the Baku (Azerbaijan) Fires or Paris United. To do so, the Matadors will summon a home-ring advantage that has proved demoralizing for all that have entered having won all six WSB matches to date with an impressive 27-3 record.
“We’re down but we’re not out,” said Matador head coach Manny Robles. “The guys are working hard and staying focused. We know it’s going to be tough but I feel like we’ve got the kind of team that can respond to adversity.”
Given the squad Arlan head coach Beibut Yeszhanov has assembled for the team’s long American road trip, there’s little chance the team will be making a stop at Disneyland or get lost in the glitz and glamour of Hollywood. The Arlans entering the ring Sunday have a combined 21-2 record and are comprised of the two top-ranked boxers at bantamweight and lightweight as well as an Olympic gold medalist at middleweight.
The Matadors have been resilient all season long and hope for more of that as they prepare. The team leaped out to a huge lead during the season but would stave off injury and a lack of depth at certain weight classes to fight off the Mexico City Guerreros to capture the regular-season crown. Combined, the LA Matadors team competing Sunday has a 10-2 record overall this season in WSB bouts.
One of the top surprises of the WSB season, Fernando Martinez, will compete in the bantamweight division for the Matadors. Known for his discipline, work ethnic and never-give-up attitude, the Argentinean fighter will put his 4-1 record up against Kanat Abutalipov, who enters with a 6-0 record in WSB bouts and is the No. 1-ranked boxer who will be competing in the WSB individual finals at the end of May. Abutalipov was a 2008 Olympian and a 2009 World Champs quarterfinalist.
At lightweight, Robles has had to call upon the youth of 19-year-old Eric Flores (Inglewood, Calif.) to help bolster the team after it lost Eric Fowler (Houston, Texas) to a sparring injury last week. Flores will be contested by Yerzhan Mussafirov, a 2009 World Champs competitor with a 6-0 record in the WSB’s first season.
Chris Pearson (Trotwood, Ohio) was a late addition to the Matador franchise but has been among the team’s biggest surprises during the season’s second half. Pearson got the decisive Matador victory against the Mexico City Guerreros’ Yamaguchi Florentino during the team’s March 14 showdown for the league title. Pearson will have his hands full trying to contain 2008 Olympic gold medalist Bakht Sarsekbayev and his 4-1 WSB record.
Light heavyweight combatants will include Matador Elber Passos (Salvador, Brazil) and Marat Moldagereyev for the Arlans. Passos has been on the giving and receiving ends of TKOs in his two WSB bouts having served one up to Cristian Montenegro of the Mexico City Guerreros and falling victim to one by 2008 Olympic silver medalist Kenny Egan of the Miami Gallos in the last bout of the regular season.
The heavyweight (+91kg) contest features a rematch from WSB’s test event held April 23, 2010, featuring Hungary’s Istvan Bernath and Matador boxer Javier Torres (Pico Rivera, Calif.). Bernath edged Torres that day in a very close match that came down to a split decision. With a 2-3 record, Torres has had an up-and-down season while Bernath has had just one WSB fight, albeit a win
The April 17 semifinal will take place at the Music Box Theatre and will kick-off at 7 pm. The Matadors will join forces once again with actress and activist Jenny McCarthy to help “Knockout Autism” with a portion of the proceeds from the evening benefiting Generation Rescue.
