Week 1 of the World Series of Boxing season took place over the weekend, with all of the clubs from across the globe in action. Right here, we have a roundup of all of the match results, and some dominant performances by several teams, including Cuba, Russia, Germany and Ukraine. Take a look.
Arlans 4-1 Fires… The Champs are back!
The World Series of Boxing (WSB) Season IV kicked-off today in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It was as if we were never away with the action, picking up right where we left it in May, with Season III Champions the Astana Arlans Kazakhstan totally dominating their opponents. Today it was the WSB “Bad Boys”, the Baku Fires, who succumbed to the Alfa Wolf team.
Bout of the match
WSB Middleweight legend Sergiy Derevyanchenko from Ukraine had a tough introduction to Season IV in the shape of the experienced Mikalai Vesialou of the Baku Fires. The southpaw Azeri came into the bout with a 7-0 unbeaten record and the reach advantage. It was enough to cause the WSB’s most experienced boxer some difficulties. Nonetheless Derevyanchenko, who became the first boxer to win across all four seasons, only just managed to scrape through the first round. But the Arlans veteran’s performance today was a little similar to a Stevenson’s Rocket steam train; a slow and grinding start, followed by a continual increase in momentum until he hit top speed and became a really unstoppable force. Taking the centre of the ring in the second, he finally found his range in the third round and landed some very heavy body shots and good combinations. By round four the Azeri was given two standing eight counts in extremely short succession. With the referee looking into the fighter’s eyes and deciding that he had seen enough, the bout was stopped shortly after. Thus, despite a slow start in round one, Derevyanchenko is most definitely back as a force to be reckoned with again this season.
Boxer of the match
Bagdad Alimbekov looked very solid for the Arlans against Magomed Gurbanov of Azerbaijan. The slick Kazakh Bantamweight managed to land good combinations on the Azeri to open a small cut in the first. Gurbanov responded well however and pressed hard early in the second. The Kazakh boxer seemed to make the better use of angles but the Azeri was relentless. In round three, Alimbekov tried to draw his opponent on by dropping his hands and Gurbanov actually followed suit which changed the dynamics a little. By the final round, both boxers looked tired after such a huge effort. During the bout it seemed that the Azeri threw a lot more shots, though the Kazakh threw more accurate and harder ones. Following the surprise defeat they had suffered at Light Flyweight (see below), the crowd looked visibly nervous. But they needn’t have been with the Azeri comfortably taking a straight 3:0 win giving him his 7th straight win in the WSB across two seasons. Credit should be given to Gurbanov however, who looked good on his debut in the WSB.
The Turning point
Light Welterweight Askhat Ualikhanov who was making his WSB debut today had a great opening round against Osman Aliyev of the Baku Fires. With the match currently standing at 1:1 Ualikhanov displayed no signs of nervousness as he flew around the ring and landed strikes on his opponent almost at will. The orthodox Azeri, opened round two with his lead hand low hoping to draw in the Kazakh boxer, but the local man was a little bit faster and tended to beat Aliyev to the punch, which somewhat negated the strategy. Ualikhanov who took the opening three rounds, knew he just had to stay out of trouble going into the fourth. He was very light on his feet and made good use of the ring as he tried to shut the bout down. In the end the Azeri had nothing to offer him. Ualikhanov looks like a great addition to the team this year, who knows where they have been hiding him.
Fact/Stat of the match
Today was the first time the WSB has trialled its new adidas lace-up and velcro gloves. Last season we used velcro gloves to speed up the processing back stage. This year however we have opted for enhanced quality. The new gloves mould beautifully to the hands and provide fantastic wrist support and protection for the athletes, whose initial feedback has been positive.
Wrap up of the rest of the day’s action
Elsewhere Southpaw Azeri Khamza Nametov won the opening bout of the season at Light Flyweight, causing something of an upset in defeating his orthodox opponent Anvar Muzaparov. This was an excellent and highly competitive bout, fought with plenty of heart by both men. The Azeri boxer gradually began to impose himself and scored two impressive knockdowns. On the second occasion, the Kazakh boxer did well to slip a punch before getting nailed with a straight left. It was enough to see the Baku Fires temporarily take the lead over the defending champions.
Later, with the score already 3:1 to the Arlans, the final bout of the day between Vasilii Levit and the experienced Abdulkadir Abdullayev was slightly academic. However, a win for either boxer would make the difference in the headlines between an “emphatic win for the Arlans” and something more along the lines of “the Arlans grind out an early win”. Abdullayev, a veteran of all three previous seasons with eight wins and only one defeat was facing a WSB debutant in 23 year old Levit. That didn’t stop the young gun blasting his way through his Azeri rival, which included giving him a standing eight count in round one. Under the vocal instructions of coach Sergiy Korchynsky, the young man didn’t lose his head and boxed well for the next two rounds before shutting the match down. “A dog’s head on a pup’s shoulders” is the expression that springs to mind to describe the mature display by the Arlans’ new boy, who is yet another excellent home-grown talent the Alpha Wolves have found.
Argentina 1-4 Italy: Stylish away win for the Thunder
Group A of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) Season IV kicked off with the Dolce & Gabbana taking an impressive looking win away from home in Mar del Plata against the Argentina Condors. The star-filled Italian squad has been very busy acquiring new talent in the off-season and now looks set to stamp its authority on its Group in a bid to recover the title it lost last season to the Astana Arlans Kazakhstan.
In an exciting evening of boxing in Argentina, we had the Flyweights (52kg), Lightweights (60kg), Welterweights (69kg), Light Heavyweights (81kg) and Super Heavyweights (91+kg) in the ring. Here is an overview of the action.
Bout of the match
Andrew Selby of Wales looked great in his debut for the Italia Thunder. With the British Lionhearts not competing this year, Selby seems to have found the perfect team to fit his flamboyant expressive style of boxing. Choosing to box most of the match in an orthodox stance, the Flyweight would still switch as needed to cause his opponent confusion and to facilitate his excellent evasive skills. Christian Eduardo Roda the man sent in by the Condors to face Selby is still only 20 years old and making just his second appearance in the WSB. Taking on last year’s number one ranked Bantamweight (50-54kg) was not the easiest of tasks for the young man. However he fought gamely and looked almost Mexican in his style as he relentlessly pushed forward, boxing from the heart. Selby, who took an AIBA Open Boxing (AOB) World bronze medal just a few weeks ago, managed the bout well from start to finish. Once it was clear he was safely able to dominate, he focused on shutting the match down for the victory.
Boxer of the match
Welterweight Brian Castaño of the Argentina Condors deserves this accolade despite the fact that his team lost. The Condor’s poster boy won both his bouts last season and made it 3-0 in the WSB last night with his triumph over a very serious opponent in thirty year old Ricardo Pintaudi. Although Pintaudi was making his WSB debut, he has a professional record of 8-0 and was widely expected to make an impact in the Italian squad. With an incredible work rate, Castaño out-paced his opponent and ground him down. The Argentinian let loose a continual barrage of blows with lethal accuracy across the five rounds to earn a well-deserved victory over the Italian, who performed strongly himself.
The turning point
With so many big names on display, it was easy to overlook Peter Mullenberg of Holland on paper. The 25 year old Light Heavyweight was making his WSB debut last night, but as the current European AOB bronze medallist, he has the calibre to mix it in the ring. This he proved with emphatic fashion with a 4th round knockout (at 2:16) of fellow WSB new boy Brian Suarez. It was a huge left hook that did the damage, and with the scores at 2:1 going into the bout, it was this victory that assured the win for the Italia Thunder. Mullenberg looks very big for a Light Heavyweight; he has the body of a tree yet moves like a tiger in the ring. He is a good find for the Italian team and it will be interesting to see how they use him this year.
Fact/Stat of the match
No Italian boxer actually won last night despite the fact that the Thunder came home with the win. If that doesn’t show the usefulness of a strong international contingent in your team, nothing will. Also, one of our twitter fans (@nanoalende) pointed out that three out of the five Argentinian boxers selected had the name of Brian!
Guerreros 0-5 Domadores: The Cubans have arrived!
Wow! That is the best way to describe what we saw last night from World Series of Boxing (WSB) new boys the Cuba Domadores. The Cubans announced themselves on the world stage with a bang as they totally dominated their Group B rivals, the Mexico Guerreros, in Mexico City.
It was the C1 category, featuring the Light Flyweights (46-49kg) the Bantamweights (56kg), Light Welterweights (64kg), Middleweights (75kg), and Heavyweights (91kg), who took to the ring in a stunning display of boxing.
Bout of the match
With the score already 2:0 to Cuba, their World silver medallist at Light Welterweight Yasnier Toledo Lopez took on Juan Romero of the Guerreros. Romero, now in his fourth season with the WSB, is a veteran fighter who has only lost once in the last two years in the competition and has also clocked up nine wins along the way. If anyone was going to stop the juggernaut that was the Cuba Domadores it had to be him. The Cuban certainly did not get it all his own way with the Mexican winning round’s two and three to take the bout right down to the wire. When the Cuban’s hand was raised, to the despair of the hopeful local crowd it was already game set and match to the Domadores.
Boxer of the match
Up last into the ring, Heavyweight Erislandy Savon Cotilla looked awesome against his French opponent Djabril Coupe who has been brought in this season to bolster the Guerreros Heavyweight ranks. Erislandy, who is the nephew of the great three time Olympic Champion Felix Savon looked outstanding and knocked his opponent down with a perfectly placed left hook early in round one. By the end of the round the Mexican coaches had seen enough and threw in the towel to protect their fighter. It was an amazing WSB debut for the big man, who will be one to watch this season for sure. His victory also ensured a white wash for the Domadores team.
The Turning point
Was it when the Cubans got off the plane? Arguably there was no turning point as the match was basically one way traffic from the beginning to the end. As soon as World bronze medallist Yosbany Veitia Soto entered the ring against the Guerreros Joselito Velazquez in the opening bout of the evening things looked bad for the Guerreros. The young Mexican boxer tried to come forward and catch his opponent but Soto was just too nimble and avoided all danger whilst picking Velazquez off on the way in. From there on out it was all downhill for the Guerreros.
Fact/Stat of the match
Erislandy Savon’s Knockdown just one minute into round one still wasn’t as fast as his first round knockdown of Jinho Heo of Korea in the first round of the AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013 a few weeks ago. In that event he took his opponent out in less than 30 seconds for a TKO victory.
Wrap up
Middleweight Ramon Luis Nicolas of the Domadores is the current Pan American Champion but had a poor performance at the latest World Championships where he went out in the second round. This left him with an AIBA World Ranking of just 20, which is probably a little unkind. Meanwhile in a late change for Mexico Moreno Diego had to step in for Juan Mercado, with the Guerrero being flown in from California (where he is currently training) at very short notice. He deserves credit for stepping up to the plate without warning, but it was still bad news for the Mexicans. Moreno has very little experience at international level and this call-up represented a huge step in his career. The Cuban was totally dominant as he strolled to victory. Watch out for Nicolas’ speed this season.
Elsewhere the Domadores’ Robeisy Ramirez Carrazana, the London 2012 Olympic Champion, looked in fine form against Brayan Gonzales who stepped in as another last minute Mexican replacement for Aron Almeda at Bantamweight. The Cuban was in fine form throughout the bout and put on a display of total dominance. He took every single round on his way to an easy victory.
Russia 5-0 Poland: A new power rising?
The whispered talk for some months among coaches and boxing experts has not been about the might of defending champions the Astana Arlans, or the exciting new prospect the Cuba Domadores, but rather about the potential emergence of a lethal Russian team this year.
After finding themselves in the “Group of Death”, many rival teams feared that the Russians would up the ante this year. Following this staggering result in St.-Petersburg, we may now ask the question: are we now seeing the emergence of a new WSB super-power?
Bout of the match
Vladimir Nikitin who grabbed a silver medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013, took on Sylwester Kozlowski of the Hussars Poland at Bantamweight. There was a hefty gulf between the two in terms of experience levels. With Nikitin psychologically buoyed (even if physically tired) from his success in Kazakhstan, he looked good coming into this bout. With the Russian taking the rounds by the fourth, it was clear that the Polish boxer had no choice but to come forward and look for a TKO. Unfortunately he was unable to find the space to do so, with the Russian dominating the centre of the ring. Nikitin landed a huge uppercut to the body with thirty seconds left in the fourth that visibly rocked the Hussar, but he hung on. In the end it was the experienced Nikitin who took the bout.
Boxer of the match
Middleweight Tomasz Jablonski was the Hussars last real chance of some salvation against Artem Chebotarev of Russia. The Pole won three of his four bouts last year in the WSB. Chebotarev however, took a bronze at the World Boxing Championships in Almaty a few weeks ago. Add to that the fact that he is a double Gold medallist in the European Continental Championships and three times Russian National Champion and you start to see why he wasn’t the ideal opponent to face when your team is trying to stage a comeback. Arguably featuring the most accomplished boxers on both sides, this would have been the bout of the match had something stunning not happened so early on. Jablonski was not here to mess about. The shorter Pole had to try to close the gap on his tall opponent, yet as our TV Commentator so eloquently put it, there are three words to describe Chebotarev: mobile, agile…And hostile. Shortly after the commentator made this statement, the boxer justified it as he dropped his opponent with a swift uppercut at the end of round one. The Pole was unable to recover and the Russian won by an amazing and unexpectedly sudden TKO.
The turning point
Russian Armen Zakaryan took on Light Welterweight Kazimierez Legowski and this was the key point in the match. The Hussars boxer has a very difficult style to face even when you consider that he is a southpaw. He was arguably ahead for most of the first round and still at 2:0 it looked like Poland were about to stage a fight back. Then the Polish boxer bounced back to avoid a blow and was sprung back off the ropes just in time to be propelled into a huge left hand to the solar plexus. The shot to the body with the added force of the ropes was enough to see the Pole drop to the floor, unable to recover. The result was the first straight knockout for the Russians this year and the confirmation of Russian supremacy over the Hussars.
Fact/Stat of the match
Zakaryan’s knockout was the second first round KO in just one weekend. The other came from Erislandy Savon of Cuba who took out his opponent with a left hook in just over a minute.
Wrap up
The rest of the match was fairly academic with the Russians clearly in control, yet still the bombardment continued, which showed real hunger from the team. Heavyweight Pavel Nikitaev was interesting to watch against Tomasz Kowalski. Russian has a very upright and square stance and would look almost like an 18th century English boxer were it not for his incredibly ripped body, which is remarkably well defined for a heavyweight and betrays his elite athlete pedigree. By round two, the Russian was head hunting such showed his confidence. In the end he was more than a match for his opponent.
Finally, Dawid Sebastian Jagodzinski of the Hussars took on his namesake David Ayrapetyan at Light Flyweight. The two orthodox boxers were very smooth and traded blows aggressively. The Russian Olympian’s timing was superb and although the Polish boxer fought with the relentless determination we have come to expect from the team, it was the Russian’s accuracy that made the difference. With the ten year age gap between them showing in the form of the Russian’s experience, it was unsurprising that he took the bout in the end.
The Otamans were happy to prove that this World Series of Boxing (WSB) fourth season is not just a two horse race between the defending champions, the Astana Arlans Kazakhstan and the Cuba Domadores. Their emphatic win over the USA Knockouts proved that they too, as last year’s vice champions, are not to be discounted.
Ukraine 4-1 USA: Otamans still in the mix
Bout of the match
Swedish Super Heavyweight Mohamed Sallah was the USA Knockouts last hope of getting a score on the board when he came on for the last bout of the evening. He took on Rostyslav Arkhypenko who has a WSB record of 1-4 and is desperate to improve it. Two boxers with a point to prove was always going to make for an interesting encounter and this proved to be the case. There was a huge size and height difference between the two athletes, with the shorter Otamans fighter having little choice but to work the body initially. With the Swede dominating the first and most of the second by out-muscling his opponent, the Ukrainian began to find his range late in the second round. In the third he started landing but continued to be frustrated by Sallah who was doing enough to dominate the bout. In the final few moments of the fight, the flow suddenly reversed and it was the Knockouts boxer who was desperately hanging on to make it to the finish line. In the end he did so gained some redemption for the US team.
Boxer of the match
Oleksandr Ganzulia of the Otamans took on American Light Heavyweight Anthony Campbell. The Ukrainian came out hard, and scored early, but Campbell settled down quickly and began to use his jab to try to hold his opponent at bay. The American’s hand speed was impressive as was his footwork. This was a classic stylistic match up with the hard Ukrainian coming forward and the fleet-footed American switching stances and circling. In round two, Campbell tried to bring his opponent in but got absolutely nailed by the hard hitting Ganzulia. This continued to happen and the American began to endure punishment which he tried to smile-off as if it wasn’t affecting him. The Ukrainian wasn’t falling for it and continued to be methodical, systematic and brilliant in his approach. The corner recognised what was happening too and threw in the towel before the start of round four.
The turning point
Welterweight Denys Lazarev took on Nodir Kasimov of the Knockouts. This very quickly became a bout of attrition which was impressive in its own way. The Knockouts boxer took a lot of punishment during this bout, but was working behind a solid guard throughout. The local boxer was however utterly dominant. He displayed an incredible work rate to keep his opponent on the back foot and behind his defensive shield, using every tool in his arsenal to do so. It was a solid display and one that bodes well for the Otamans moving forward.
Fact/Stat of the match
Sallah was cheeky enough to wink at the crowd all the way through his bout against Arkhypenko. And surprisingly it actually worked. With the match already won for the home side, the Palace of Sports audience started to enjoy his attitude and at the end of the bout he was surrounded by dozens of fans who wanted to take a picture with him. “I like to think that I am a showman. I want the crowd to participate. But I only do it when I know I’m safe. I don’t want to look ridiculous and get hit while winking”, said the Swede.
Wrap up
Elsewhere, Lightweight Ukrainian Pavlo Ishchenko made his WSB debut against Uzbek opponent Bahodirjon Sultonov of the USA Knockouts. Sultonov is an Olympian and two time participant at the AIBA World Championships. Yet the Ukrainian is the current European Champion and very much a young athlete on the rise. As the bout progressed, the energy of the younger Otamans boxer began to shine through. By the third he was clearly in control of the bout. Ishchenko was impressive today and got even better as the match went on. By the end he was totally dominant. With Lomachenko’s big boots to fill, this was a spectacular debut and it bodes extremely well for the Arlans for this season.
At Flyweight, the Otamans were awarded a walk over but were still willing to put on an exhibition bout for the fans. Unfortunately for them, American boxer Eros Correa who stood in at the last minute seems to be quite a hot prospect and he dominated his local rival for an emphatic US victory. Unfortunately it won’t go in the books.
Germany 5-0 Algeria: Eagles fly past Hawks
The German Eagles team made very short work of their visiting Algeria Desert Hawks opponents in their opening World Series of Boxing (WSB) match this year. This was a serious statement of intent from the German Franchise who is on a serious bid to make it to the Play-Offs this season.
Today we were fortunate enough to watch the Flyweights (52kg), Lightweights (60kg), Welterweights (69kg), Light Heavyweights (81kg) and Super Heavyweights (91+kg) competing.
Bout of the match
Arajik Marutjan of the Eagles took on Fehim Chabane at Welterweight. This was one of two extremely difficult debuts tonight, with the Algerian making his first ever appearance in the WSB against the man who recently took a bronze in the AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013. The German boxed with his lead hand low and moved his head like a cobra every time his opponent opened up. He showed significant class across all three rounds, boxing elegantly and showing superior conditioning to his Algerian opponent. He could be a force for Germany this year. His rival deserves praise for coming in against such tough opposition and handling the pressure as well as he did.
Boxer of the match
Erik Pfeifer took on Yaovi Agbonsong at Super Heavyweight. The AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013 bronze medallist and AIBA World number 5 ranked boxer represented a huge task (both figuratively and literally) for the WSB debutant Agbonsong. With 30 seconds remaining in the first, Pfeifer landed a huge right hand to give his man a standing eight count. After dropping twice in the second without being hit, the corner wouldn’t let their boxer continue into the third, giving Pfeifer an easy win. The German must be among those who will challenge for the number one slot on the Individual Rankings this year.
The turning point
Lightweight Emir Eminovic of the Eagles took on French boxer Oualid Belaoura. The southpaw German was an awkward target for the Desert Hawks’ boxer, with both fighters going through a very fast opening round and displaying amazing great evasion skills. The German was a bit of an enigma for his opponent; sometimes he would stand and brawl, other times he would evade like a snake. But Belaoura had phenomenal fitness and was able to box at an outstanding pace to push the bout close. By the end of the fourth round, with the bout very tight indeed and with both athletes fatiguing, the fifth round became a crucial affair. The German slipped to the canvas in the opening moments and local fans’ hearts were in their mouths when for a moment they thought it was a knockdown. It wasn’t though and the German did enough to edge out a victory and to take the Eagles to 2:0.
Wrap up
Hamza Touba took on Amine Khentache at Flyweight. The German looked the more comfortable at this level and used his speed and incredible evasion skills to ease his way through every round. The Algerian worked hard to stay in the game but was unable to match the experience of his opponent. The German took the win in a relaxed fashion.
Nineteen year old Hichem Kaalaour of the Algeria Desert Hawks took on Serge Michel at Light Heavyweight. The Desert Hawks’ boxer was taller and tried to make use of his jab and cross to catch the smaller Michel who took his time in analysing his young opponent. In the end the German eased his way through the bout, while the Desert Hawks youngster gave a good account of himself.
