European conference leaders Paris United and second place Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder will both be looking to secure important wins in the penultimate week of the World Series of Boxing regular season this week. A win for Paris could see them secure qualification as the conference leaders with a week to spare, while a victory for Milan could set them up for a potential three-way battle next week to decide the best second place team across all three conferences.
Paris United will open with veteran Giorgi Kilanava (Georgia) at bantamweight for their home encounter with the Moscow Kremlin Bears on Friday night. It will be only the second bout this season for the 29 year-old, who lost to Ciprian Apodaresei (Romania) of the Istanbulls in week nine.
Surprisingly, top-ranked Nordine Oubaali (France) is only a reserve for Friday’s match in front of the home crowd, while Paris United’s other bantamweight John Joe Nevin (Ireland) will miss the last two weeks of the season due to a leg injury. Kilanava will face Rafik Magerramov (Russia), who is also looking to score his first victory of the season.
A victory for Paris United’s Rachid Azzedine (France) in the lightweight contest on Friday would see him qualify for the Individual Championships at the end of May. The 28 year-old, who is currently ranked second, faces Adlan Abdurashidov (Russia).
Moscow debutant Yusup Magomedbekov (Russia) will face 22 year-old southpaw Michel Tavares of Paris United in the middleweight bout, whose record on the season is 2-1.
Ludovic Groguhe (France) is Paris United’s second undefeated boxer in action this week.
The 24 year-old light heavyweight ranks second in the individual standings with an impressive 5-0 record. He will meet Zhavlonbek Usmanov (Kyrgyzstan) of the Moscow Kremlin Bears, who has a 3-2 record for the season.
The heavyweight finale will be a battle of the youngsters with 18-year-old Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Tony Yoka (France) taking on 19-year-old Sherip Daudov (Russia) of the Moscow Kremlin Bears. Yoka takes an even 2-2 record into the fight, while Daudov is yet to get off the mark at 0-2.
Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder travel to the Darussafaka Ayhan Sahenk Sports Hall in Istanbul for their away encounter against the Istanbulls on Friday night.
Milan’s Ukrainian stalwart Vitaliy Volkov(2-2) will contest his fifth match against his fifth different opponent in the bantamweight opener when he takes on 20-year-old Romanian Ciprian Apodaresei, who impressed with a debut victory three weeks ago.
David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) also opened with a win for the Istanbulls in week seven but will have to beat the lightweight world champion on Friday to extend his record. Thunder’s Domenico Valentino (Italy) travels to Istanbul unbeaten so far this season and – at number four in the individual standings – is a strong challenger for one of the two spots in the Individual Championships.
The home team’s Onur Sipal (Turkey) will face a similarly tough challenge in the middleweight contest against Sergiy Derevyancheko (Ukraine), who has the same 4-0 record as his team-mate Valentino but is second in the individual standings.
The visitors’ Tommy McCarthy will be looking to get off the mark in the light heavyweight bout against Enrico Kolling. But his German opponent will also be looking to recover from his first defeat of the season in his last bout against Paris United’s Ludovic Groguhe, who dashed Kolling’s hopes of qualifying for the Individual Championships.
A re-match of the week eight encounter between Oleksiy Sivko (Ukraine) of the Istanbulls and the visitors’ Benjey Zimmermann (Netherlands Antilles) will close out the action in Istanbul. Sivko is ranked fourth and is the only boxer to have beaten Zimmerman (ranked sixth) so far this season.
Week 11 action continues in the Asian conference with Baku Fires versus Astana Arlans and Beijing Dragons versus Pohang Poseidons on Saturday, while action in the Americas starts with Los Angeles Matadors versus Mexico City Guerreros on Friday night and concludes with Memphis Force versus Miami Gallos on Monday night.
