A little more than a month before the beginning of the 2011-2012 WSB season, some of the best World Series of Boxing athletes will showcase their talent at the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships taking place at the moment in Baku, Azerbaijan, until the 8th of October.
Amongst the 570 boxers registered for the event, 72 WSB boxers are ready to give their best for one of the two most prestigious titles in a career. Knowing that this Championship will also be the main Qualifying Event for the London 2012 Olympic Games – for which a total of 92 boxers will be qualified – all the ingredients are in place for WSB boxers to be in the spotlight.
In the 52 KG weight category, the big WSB names are Rau’shee Warren (USA) and Nordine Oubaali (FRA). Warren is the only two-time Olympian on the US team and hoping to qualify for his third Olympic Games in a row. He would then become the first US boxer to do so. During the 2010-2011 WSB season, the LA Matadors boxer has beaten five different opponents. He was ranked 4 at the end of the season. French native Nordine Oubaali became a revelation during the WSB season. Oubaali has won six fights and qualified for the Individual Championships. In the final he was defeated by Kazakhstani Kanat Abutalipov.
In the 56 KG weight category, the Irishman John Joe Nevin and Moldovan Vaeclav Gojan will surely put on a great boxing show. John Joe Nevin rocketed to success in 2008, taking the Irish title then qualifying for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the age of 18. He secured Ireland’s only medal at the 2009 AIBA World Championships in Milan, taking bronze. Nevin who in the WSB represents the French team Paris United started the season strongly, winning a streak of the first three fights. But then he was defeated by Parrinello of Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder. He took his revenge during the memorable WSB Team Final when he beat Mirzhan Rakhimzhanov of Astana Arlans. Nevin was ranked 8 at the end of the WSB season.
Gojan is one of the biggest names who signed for the 2nd season WSB Draft. The 28 year old from Moldova is the 2011 European Champion and Beijing Olympic bronze medallist.
Italian Domenico Valentino of Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder, the current World champion and Irishman David Oliver Joyce of Istanbulls will be competing in the 60 KG weight category. Valentino and Joyce have already touched gloves during the WSB season. Although the Italian boxer was undefeated and beat four different opponents it was Joyce who won the fight. It was Valentino’s only loss during the WSB season. Joyce joined the Istanbulls late in the season but ranked as high as number 11 at the end of the season. Valentino ended the season ranked 7.
In the 64 KG weigh category, Brazilian Everton Lopes is a rising star on the international boxing scene, reaching quarterfinals at the 2009 AIBA World Championships. At the WSB he represented Los Angeles Matadors and ended the season highly ranked as 8th, he was even responsible for two technical knockouts. African boxer Louis Colin from Mauritius is one of the latest signings for the WSB Boxers Draft, he is the 2011 African Champion.
In the 69 KG weight category, boxing fans will enjoy the competition thanks to Frenchman Alexis Vastine and Hungarian Imre Balázs Bacskai. The latter will take part in the WSB Boxers Draft; he is the 2010 European Champion. Paris United’s Alexis Vastine despite his young age of 24 is already a Beijing Olympic bronze medallist. During the WSB season Vastine showed his talent winning his first three fights. He could not compete in the 2nd part of the season due to injury. Backsai and Vastine competed for the European title at the 2010 European Championships, Vastine lost the fight.
There will be lots of boxing action in the 75 KG weight category thanks to Michel Tavares (Paris United) and Russel Lamour (Los Angeles Matadors). Tavares joined Paris United late in the season and certainly did not disappoint. Out of six fights he won five and beat the current Olympic Champion in 69 KG Bakhyt Sarsekbayev during the WSB Team Finals. Russel Lamour the “Haitian sensation” as he is called in LA, has won four out of six fights during the WSB season. He was as highly ranked as number 5.
Enrico Kooling and Hrvoje Sep will be the two WSB boxers to watch in the 81 KG weight category. Kooling from Germany who represented the Istanbulls was little known when he joined WSB. But he quickly impressed fans around the world winning four fights and losing only to the powerful Ludovic Groguhe. Croatian Sep who represented Paris United won six impressive fights and was ranked number 3 at the end of the season. Sep and Kooling met in week 4 of the WSB competition and it was Kooling who won the bout.
Frenchman Ludovic Groguhe and Irishman Kenneth Egan are the boxing stars in the 91 KG weight category. Light-heavyweight Kenneth Egan became a national celebrity in Ireland after bringing home a silver medal from Beijing. The 27 year-old southpaw from Dublin, has won nine Irish titles. In the WSB, Egan represented the Miami Gallos winning two out of three fights. The Irishman could not compete for almost the entire season due to injury.
Ludovic Groguhe of Paris United has proved a force to be reckoned with in the WSB’s light heavyweight weight division, emerging unbeaten after six fights in the tough European conference.The Frenchman qualified for the Final of the Individual Championships to face Abdelhafid Benchabla (Benchabla was ranked number 1 at the end of the regular WSB season). Groguhe fought the final despite having a broken hand during the semi-final; he lost the fight against Benchabla and ended the season ranked second.
The hot WSB boxing trio Filip Hrgovic, Tony Yoka and Magomedrasul Medzhidov will be competing in the 91+ Kg weight category. Filip Hrgovic from Croatia and Tony Yoka from France are both 19 years old. They have been opponents at international boxing competitions, the most memorable of which was the 2010 World Youth Championships when the two boxers met in the final, Hrgovic winning the gold. The same year Yoka won gold at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore. Later in 2010 Yoka and Hrgovic joined the same WSB team – Paris United. At the end of the season, Yoka was ranked 11 and Hrgovic 5. Magomedrasul Medzhidov of Baku Fires won all six fights during WSB season (he beat Yoka in the semi-final) and qualified to the final for Individual Championships. In the final he lost to Clemente Russo therefore taking the second place in WSB individual ranking.
Baku will also stage one of the most important events in the 2011-2012 WSB season: the boxers Draft. It will take place on the 6th of October, on the rest-day of the AIBA World Boxing Championships.
During the Draft, teams will be able to select from around 60 of the world’s top boxers, including this year’s African and European Champions and several continental medallists, coming from approximately 25 different countries to complete their squads. The pick-order for the Draft will be based on last year’s results with the new franchises having the first pick, the lowest ranked teams the next picks and the current WSB Champion Paris United having the last one.
