Superb British Lionhearts Roar Into Play-Offs With Superb 4-1 Win Over USA Knockouts On Night Of Three TKOs

The British Lionhearts put in a sensational performance against USA Knockouts in London on Thursday night to maintain their unbeaten record in WSB Season VI. The Lionhearts now have a five-point lead over the second-placed Americans and host the Morocco Atlas Lions in two weeks’ time.

European Confederation Boxing Championships silver medalist Muhammad Ali got the home side off to a strong start against USA Knockouts’ 23-year-old Gaurav Bidhuri, his lightening combinations and long, straight punching delivering a unanimous judges’ decision after five rounds.

The Americans were soon back on level terms after winning the battle of the welterweight southpaws. Lionhearts’ promising debutant Cyrus Pattinson was stopped in his tracks in the third round of what had, up to then, been a balanced contest with fellow debutant Ardreal Holmes, with the American’s jabs putting Pattinson on the canvas.

Wales’ European Confederation Champion Joseph Cordina continued his strong run of form with a confident display against Knockouts debutant Bruce Carrington. Cordina was focused throughout, comfortably taking all five rounds for a unanimous points decision to give the home side an advantage they would refuse to let slip.

Lionhearts’ Joshua Buatsi had his opponent Souliman Abdourachidov on the canvas as early as the first round, but full credit to the Frenchman who returned well in the second and third of a gripping encounter. But it was Buatsi, fuelled by the vociferous home crowd, who seized control, delivering a massive left in the fourth that had Abdourachidov down for the final time as the referee awarded the home side the TKO and a deserved win on the night.

That left Joseph Joyce to return to the side and round-off the action in emphatic style. Last year’s super heavyweight star returned to the WSB fray with a big left hook in the opening seconds and then had Knockouts’ Brandon Lynch on the canvas inside the first minute, raising the roof on York Hall and sealing a memorable win for the Lionhearts.

British Lionhearts Focused On Preserving Lead At The Top Of Group B Against Closest Rivals USA Knockouts On Today

British Lionhearts could seal their place as Group B winners on Tonight as they entertain the USA Knockouts in London’s York Hall. Season VI began well for the home side with a tight win in Miami, and victory in the return match would book their place in the Playoffs stages.

European Confederation Championship silver medalist Muhammad Ali will be first into the ring for the unbeaten Lionhearts looking for his second win of the season against Knockouts’ talented Indian Gaurav Bidhuri. Also in form for the hosts is Welshman Joseph Cordina, recent lightweight winner at the Bocskai Memorial Tournament in Hungary and favourite to overcome Knockouts’ debutant Bruce Carrington, bronze medalist at the US National Olympic Trials.

British Lionhearts’ newcomer Cyrus Pattinson took silver in Hungary at welterweight and he meets Ardreal Holmes in what will be a revealing battle of the WSB debuts, before light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi, winner of both the Rio Test Event and Bocskai event, unleashes his powerful combinations on Knockouts’ French talent Souliman Abdourachidov.

British Lionhearts focused on preserving lead at the top of Group B against closest rivals USA Knockouts on Thursday

The last man out for the home side, with the possibility of sealing the Group B top spot in style, is European Games Super Heavyweight champion Joe Joyce. Joyce returns to the team after a brilliant 6-1 season last year, to face American Brandon Lynch, who will be riding high after defeating Mexico Guerreros’ Elvis Garcia on WSB debut in Week 4.

AIBA Stars Line Up For Movember Charity Campaign

November. The trees may be bare and the winds cold, but two star AIBA boxers will be keeping their top lips warm with fresh facial hair as part of the Movember charity movement to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues.

The health of its boxers has always been central to the AIBA philosophy. Following the launch of the #HeadsUp! campaign in October at Doha 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships, initially training boxers to use a more upright style, joining forces with the Movember movement is yet another element of AIBA’s commitment to put boxers first.

The high-profile figures of Ireland’s first ever World Champion Michael Conlan and Team GB star Joe Joyce will be the moustachio’d faces of AIBA for Movember.

“The Movember campaign promotes awareness for issues that we are all familiar with to some extent, whether its through boxing or our personal lives. I couldn’t be happier to put my top lip and full support behind it and raise money for some great causes.” Michael Conlan – twitter.com/MickConlan11

Ireland’s Michael Conlan

“In sport, you are acutely aware of the issues facing other sportsmen and the impact that health issues can have on a career, and AIBA has always been proactive in preventing them. Movember has done an incredible job in raising awareness of those issues in a way that people easily can relate to.” Joe Joyce – twitter.com/JoeJoyce_1

Joe JOYCE

Since 2003, the Movember Foundation has raised £400m, and it is the largest men’s health movement in the world. Follow the boxers’ progress throughout Movember on AIBA Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

#HeadsUp! is a global program developed by AIBA to promote the values of boxing and the global AIBA family. The objective is to foster AIBA initiatives to promote the development and growth of boxing at a national and international level through four key pillars, such as sports, education, health and sustainability.

Men and women sign up at http://www.Movember.com to grow, give or MOVE for the 30 days of Movember.

Global Boxing Elite In Awe Of ‘Spectacular’ Doha

258 boxers from 74 countries have arrived in Doha for the first-ever AIBA World Boxing Championships held in the Middle East for the very first time, and with competition officially starting on Tuesday 5th october, the best boxers on the planet are raring to go.

Several of the leading contenders for world titles got to see the state-of-the-art Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena in Al Sadd for the first time on Saturday, the venue in which they will compete for gold medals and the ultimate prize of qualification to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games between 5-15 October.

GLOBAL BOXING ELITE: Germany’s Hamza Touba (left), next to Artur Biyarslanov and his coach from Canada, Egypt’s Hussein Bakr Abdin Hosam with his father and coach, Mohammed Flissi and his coach from Algeria, super heavyweight favorite Joe Joyce from Great Britain next to his coach, Qatar’s Hzam Nabah and coach Juan Carlos Gonzalez, and Team US far right, with Nico Hernandez in the middle behind the flag.

Nico Hernandez (USA) and his teammates were impressed by the beautiful venue and training facilities. “I am here to fight and win. I am ready for my first fight on Tuesday. Everything has been done to provide optimal conditions for boxers to perform to the best of their ability”, says the bronze medalist at the American Confederation Boxing Championships in Vargas.

“We arrived 3 days ago and were amazed by the venue and the state of the art training facilities which will give us the perfect conditions to box”, says Hamza Touba (GER), 52kg who won the bronze medal at the European Games in Baku this. “I came here to win and to qualify to Rio”, adds the 23 years old boxer.

One of the highlights of Doha 2015 will be the bouts in the super heavyweight category. Joe Joyce, representing Team Great Britain, is chasing his country’s first gold medal since 2007 in Doha: “To walk in here and see the sheer scale of this arena is amazing. Everything here is top-notch, all shiny and spectacular. It’s going to be great to see this place packed with people, and I hope to put on a real show. Hopefully I’ll perform to my potential, and get to leave Qatar with a gold medal in the bag.”

Tickets are priced between QR10-50 and can be purchased online at http://www.virgintickets.qa and in Virgin Megastores in Villaggio Mall and Landmark Mall, as well as at the venue throughout the World Championships.

Top World Class Boxers Performed A Remarkable Feat At The Baku 2015 European Games…

Top world class boxers performed a remarkable feat at the Baku 2015 European Games in winning the 15 coveted gold medals…,

The very first edition of the European Games closed on June 28 in Baku, Azerbaijan, as boxing enchanted and electrified both the spectators in Baku, and the millions of fans watching across the globe. Across 12 exhilarating days, thousands of fans enjoyed the opportunity to experience hundreds of amazing boxing matches at the glorious Crystal Hall venue and passionately supported the men and women champions.

AIBA PRESIDENT Dr Ching-Kuo Wu

AIBA President Dr Ching Kuo-Wu praised the Baku 2015 European Games organizers: “This has been a phenomenal event and awarding 14 different countries demonstrates the vitality and the strong appeal of men and women boxing in the European continent. Some of the best boxers in the world participated and won in their weight categories elevating our sport to the pinnacle of the first European Games”.

For the first time ever, European boxers from all three of AIBA’s competitions battled against each other, with a total of 220 men and 66 women boxers competing. 10 men’s (49 kg, 52 kg, 56 kg, 60 kg, 64 kg, 69 kg, 75 kg, 81 kg, 91 kg and +91 kg) and five women’s (51 kg, 54 kg, 60 kg, 64 kg and 75 kg) weight classes competed in the multi-sport event, with Europe’s best boxers all attempting to earn a coveted gold medal.

The very best athletes from AIBA Open Boxing (AOB), AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) and the World Series of Boxing (WSB) all performed exceptionally well to display the world class talent contained within the entire AIBA family.

Boxing action in Baku

The winners of the gold medals are:

Women’s Fly (48-51kg): Nicola ADAMS (GBR)
Women’s Bantam (51-54kg): Elena SAVELEVA (RUS)
Women’s Light (57-60kg): Katie TAYLOR (IRL)
Women’s Light Welter (60-64kg): Anastasiia BELIAKOVA (RUS)
Women’s Middle (69-75kg):Nouchka FONTIJN (NED)

Men’s Light Fly (46-49kg): Bator SAGALUEV (RUS)
Men’s Fly (52kg): Elvin MAMISHZADA (AZE)
Men’s Bantam (56kg): Bakhtovar NAZIROV (RUS)
Men’s Light (60kg): Albert SELIMOV (AZE)
Men’s Light Welter (64kg): Collazo SOTOMAYOR (AZE)
Men’s Welter (69kg): Parviz BAGHIROV (AZE)
Men’s Middle (75kg): Michael O’REILLY (IRL)
Men’s Light Heavy (81kg): Teymur MAMMADOV (AZE)
Men’s Heavy (91kg): Abdulkadir ABDULLAYEV (AZE)
Men’s Super Heavy (+91kg): Joe JOYCE (GBR)

In addition to the 15 gold medals on offer, 30 quotas for the AIBA World Boxing Championships Doha 2015 were granted for the top three boxers in each men’s category, which gave added significance to each and every bout.