British Lionhearts Consolidate Place At Top Of Group B With Remarkable 5-0 Win Over Mexico Guerreros in London

Thursday night saw London’s packed York Hall venue welcome home a British Knockouts side coming off the back of two big WSB Season VI opening away wins. Victory in Miami in Week 2 and then in Casablanca a fortnight ago had put the hosts top of Group B, and a resounding triumph against Mexico Guerreros cemented their position after Week 6.

The light flyweights were the first to face off, with the Guerreros’ Joselito Velasquez using his left hook brilliantly in the tight opening exchanges. Lions’ WSB debutant Galal Yafai also found the target several times early on, and midway through the second round Velasquez pulled up with a shoulder injury, leaving a grateful Yafai to open his WSB account with a TKO win.

Commonwealth and European Confederation silver medallist Qais Ashfaq stepped in to the team’s bantamweight slot with confidence, taking a superb contest against Mexico’s Sergio Chirino by unanimous decision. At 2-0 up, Pat McCormack had the chance to seal the win against Mexico’s Rio 2016 qualifier Raul Curiel, and was composed in the opening exchanges as he sought away through his opponent’s solid defences. Curiel found his range in the third round but McCormack was picking his moments to attack brilliantly and a unanimous judges’ decision put the hosts into an anassailable 3-0 lead.

The biggest cheer for the evening so far then came with the return of Anthony Fowler to the British side as he looked to banish a difficult 2015 and focus once more on WSB and his Olympic preparations. Fowler looked strong against Misael Rodriguez and controlled the ring as both boxers landed some big blows in the second round, and even as Rodriguez delivered a rousing finale, the Lionhearts star had done enough to guarantee a unanimous decision in his favour.

At 4-0 up, Lionhearts’ local hero Lawrence Okolie stepped in to the hall to a rapturous response, and took less than one round to dispose of Mexico’s debutant Jared Barraza, putting him on the deck within moments and giving the referee no option but to end the bout early.

WSB Week 9: Ukraine Otamans Enjoy 4-1 Away Victory Over British Lionhearts In London

The disappointing form of the British Lionhearts in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) continued with a 4-1 home defeat to Ukraine Otamans in London.

This result was important for the Ukrainian Franchise who earned their first victory in four WSB matches, which keeps alive their chances of qualifying from Group A.

Ukraine started the match 1-0 up after British Light flyweight (49 kg) Ashley Williams could not compete in his match with Uzbekistan’s 5-0 number two ranked Hasanboy Dusmatov.

A Bantamweight (56 kg) clash between Britain’s Qais Ashfaq and Ukraine’s Mykola Butsenko was controversially stopped in the fifth round due to a cut suffered by Ashfaq, and the match was awarded to Butsenko.

Ionut-Mirel Jitaru vs Denys Poyatsyka (British Lionhearts vs Ukraine Otamans)

Samuel Maxwell earned his third win of the season for the Lionhearts with a comfortable and entertaining points win over Light welterweight (64 kg) Mger Oganisian.

The Otamans secured the overall victory in fight number four as Heavyweight (91 kg) Denys Poyatsyka remained undefeated after his bout with Romania’s Ionut-Mirel Jitaru was stopped early.

A disappointing evening for the Lionhearts was made worse in the final match of the evening, when star Middleweight (75 kg) Anthony Fowler was outpointed by Hurshidbek Normatov.

British Lionhearts are at home again next week against Morocco Atlas Lions, while Ukraine Otamans host China Dragons.

Struggling British Lionhearts And Ukraine Otamans Seek WSB lifeline In London

Week 9 in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) begins with an intriguing clash at London’s York Hall as British Lionhearts host Ukraine Otamans.

Both Franchises have been in poor form recently, with the British team having lost six of their last seven WSB matches, while Ukraine have only won one of their last five fixtures.

This is perhaps the last chance for the Lionhearts to climb the table and build momentum for a strong finish to the Regular Season, and the Otamans need this victory to stay level with the top teams in the group.

York Hall, London is the venue for this Group A clash, where on Thursday 12th March fans across the world can watch the action free, live and on demand from 20:00 GMT at AIBABoxingTV.com.

Babic vs Joyce (China Dragons vs British Lionhearts

British Light flyweight (49 kg) Ashley Williams has lost all three of his WSB matches this season, and the 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist faces a tough return to action against Uzbekistan’s 4-0 number two ranked Hasanboy Dusmatov.

An excellent Bantamweight (56 kg) clash follows between 2-1 home star Qais Ashfaq who has won both of his home matches in Season V, and 2-1 Mykola Butsenko.

Lionheart Light welterweight (64 kg) Samuel Maxwell started his campaign superbly with two successive victories, but like his Franchise he has found WSB tough going recently, and has lost his last two matches.

Maxwell will aim to return to form in London as he faces Ukrainian debutant Mger Oganisian who aims to become to the first Otamans boxer to win at the weight class this season.

Anthony Fowler – British Lionhearts

Britain’s Anthony Fowler has been one of the best boxers for his team so far in WSB, and the 3-0 Middleweight (75 kg) is on the cusp of a top five ranking in the weight class.

The AIBA World Championships bronze medalist fights the number three ranked Uzbek Hurshidbek Normatov who competes away for the first time in Season V.

0-3 Romanian Heavyweight (91 kg) Ionut-Mirel Jitaru continues his search for a first win of the campaign in the last fight in London, and he has a tough evening in store against the undefeated fifth ranked Ukrainian Denys Poyatsyka.