Ukraine puts on world class line-up against Italy
The 7,000-seater Sports Palace of Kiev is promised to an electric night this Friday, April 19 when the full-strength Otamans will try to come back from their 1-4 away defeat to Dolce & Gabbana Italia Thunder in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) semi-finals. Powered by superstar Vasyl Lomachenko and London 2012 bronze medallist Oleksandr Gvozdyk, the Ukrainians look confident enough to kick the defending Champions out of the competition.
Action will get underway at Bantamweight (50-54kg) with Ukrainian National Championships silver medallist Mykola Butsenko going toe-to-toe with former pro Daniele Limone. Butsenko has already won twice this season and will be determined to extend his record in front of his fans. His footwork and capability to keep the right distance are his trademarks. Limone, who was defeated three times so far, will therefore face a complicated task.
Two-times World and Olympic Champion, Ukrainian Lightweight (57-61kg) superstar Vasyl Lomachenko will then step onto the ring to face Thunder’s poster-boy Domenico Valentino. The two have never faced each other in WSB and this fight is anticipated to be the most exciting of the night. Most observers think that the unbeaten Otamans southpaw is sure to come on top, but Valentino will try to make the most of his experience to give a tough resistance and maybe shock the World.
Explosive action is expected at Middleweight (68-73kg) between hard-hitting Ukrainian Dmytro Mytrofanov and quick Frenchman Michel Tavares representing the Italian team. Mytrofanov has already proved that he is tailor made for the pro format of WSB. The 23-year-old Otaman has this season defeated boxing stars such as Fred Evans and William McLaughlin and is well known for putting pressure on his opponents from start to end. With 17 WSB fights under his belt, the very experienced Tavares will be a major test for Mytrofanov.
The second headline bout of the evening will come at Light Heavyweight (80-85kg) between Otamans’ Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Italia Abdelhafid Benchabla. The strong Ukrainian puncher, who brought a bronze medal from London last summer, is still unbeaten in his WSB career (7-0). But he will have to put a lot of strength in this fight against the experienced Benchabla (15-3), the Algerian being considered as one of the best Light Heavyweights the competition has.
In the last fight, at Heavyweight (91+kg), Ukrainian Rostyslav Arkhypenko is scheduled to fight against Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Tony Yoka. Arkhypenko, who lost three fights this season, will need to be at 100% to bring a fifth point to the Otamans. 20-year-old Yoka is known for his powerful right punch and brings to the team a considerable amount experience after two seasons in WSB. He will surely be going all out to re-affirm his credentials as a powerful fighter.
In case of draw on aggregate (Ukraine leading 4-1 after these five bouts), the decision will be made at Middleweight (68-73kg) with Olexandr Strets’kyy (1-1) facing London 2012 bronze medallist Vincenzo Mangiacapre (3-0).
Confident Kazakhstan to battle Guerreros for a spot in the Finals
At the Almaty Towers Business Center, Astana Arlans Kazakhstan will host the Mexico Guerreros and is expected to get the job done and qualify for the World Series of Boxing (WSB) Team Finals. A strong performance in Mexico last week-end (3-2) has put the Kazakhs in a very good position. They however have still named an impressive line-up in order to avoid any surprise.
Still undefeated this season, Bantamweight (50-54kg) Bagdad Alimbekov will first have to battle with Aaron Alameda. The 24-year-old Arlans southpaw, in WSB since the inaugural season in 2010, is well-known for his excellent footwork and heavy punches. Alameda, who has lost his last three fights, might have a lot of difficulties to overcome the Kazakh.
At Lightweight (57-61kg), Kazak southpaw Samat Bashenov will lock horns with a tough and experienced rival Vazgen Safaryants. Bashenov has been great throughout the entire season, winning all of his fights, with the one against AIBA World Championships bronze medallist Anvar Yunusov the most impressive of those victories. Safaryants, whose stance is also southpaw, had two excellent first seasons but declined in the current one. He will probably need to come back to his original boxing power if he wants to beat Bashenov.
Despite his recent defeat against Argentina Condors Brian Castaño, Sergiy Derevyanchenko is still considered as the Middleweight (68-73kg) WSB supremo. Individual Champion twice in a row with a record of 16-1, his classic tactic consists in always putting pressure and stay as close as possible from his opponents. A few weeks after his first loss, he is highly motivated to beat his opponent Conrad Cummings from the Mexico Guerreros. The Irishman has won the National Championships the last three years. His style combines strong defence and speedy attacks. Derevyanchenko will be a major test for him. This is guaranteed be an exciting and unpredictable fight.
The Light Heavyweight (80-85kg) battle will showcase one of the Arlans’ best boxers, Ehsan Rouzbahani, who will face Guerreros’ Bojan Miskovic. Southpaw Rouzbahani has won his last three contests in WSB to prove his world-class skills. The Iranian had also reached the quarter-finals at the London 2012 Olympic Games. Miskovic has had only one fight this season and was defeated. Therefore Rouzbahani is the clear favourite of this bout.
Kazakhstan team captain Ruslan Myrsatayev will bring the show to a close at Heavyweight (91+kg) versus tall 23-year-old orthodox Serbian Milutin Stankovic. Myrsatayev has kept his record clean this season and was recently awarded in January with the Best Asian WSB Boxer trophy. The Arlans’ leader is expected to box strong and smart to overcome Stankovic. This season, the Serbian boxer was defeated three times.
In case of draw on aggregate (Mexico leading 3-2 after these five bouts), the decision will be made at Lightweight (57-61kg) with Arlans’ Eric Donovan (1-1) facing Carlos Sanchez (0-0).
