WSB ! New Date and Location for USA Home Match against Cuba

The World Series of Boxing (WSB) has announced details of the rescheduled first leg quarter-final match between the USA Knockouts and the Cuba Domadores.

The match will take place on Saturday April 12th in Salem, New Hampshire at Rockingham Park. The event will start at 8:30pm local time (01:30 GMT) with the first bout starting at 9pm local time.

Rockingham Park has been hosting events for over one hundred years and is also a well renowned racetrack.

As with all previous USA Knockouts events this season, the match will be broadcast by Univision, the leading media company serving Hispanic America. It will also be available for live and on demand streaming via http://www.AIBAboxingTV.com.

“After four seasons in the US market, we are delighted that another State and another city have expressed their interest in hosting a WSB event”, stated Mr Karim Bouzidi, WSB Chief Executive Officer. “We are convinced that Rockingham Park will offer the perfect setup for this mouth-watering match and we are sure that the boxing will match perfectly this legendary venue”.

The match will be contested over the following five weight categories: Light Flyweight (46-49kg), Bantamweight (56kg), Light Welterweight (64kg), Middleweight (75kg), Heavyweight (91kg). Some of the best WSB Boxers such as Lu Bin from China, Carlos Adames from the Dominican Republic, or Cuban stars Yosbany Veitia, Yasnier Toledo and Erislandy Savon are expected to grace the canvas on the night.

Before that, both teams will have already fought each other this Friday April 4 (8:30pm local time) at the 16’000-seats Ciudad Deportiva of Havana. The line-up for this first match is as follows:

Flyweight (52kg)
Gerardo CERVANTES (Cuba Domadores) vs. Eros CORREA (USA Knockouts)

Lightweight (60kg)
Lazaro ALVAREZ (Cuba Domadores) vs. Luis Martin ARCON DIAZ (USA Knockouts)

Welterweight (69kg)
Roniel IGLESIAS SOTOLONGO (Cuba Domadores) vs. Gabriel MAESTRE (USA Knockouts)

Light Heavyweight (81kg)
Emilio CORREA (Cuba Domadores) vs. Michel BORGES DE SOUZA (USA Knockouts)

Super Heavyweight (91+kg)
Yoandi TOIRAC (Cuba Domadores) vs. Mohamed SALLAH (USA Knockouts)

AIBA President: “WSB quarter-finals – perfect symbol of peace through sport”

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu, who will be attending the World Series of Boxing (WSB) Russian Boxing Team vs. Ukraine Otamans quarter-final matches in Moscow on March 31 and in Donetsk on April 4, said today “I am convinced that we are about to witness some of the most amazing matches in WSB history”.

“Both teams are not only based in major boxing nations, but they also are very strong WSB Franchises”, underlined Dr Wu.

According to the AIBA President, even though the Otamans are one of the newest teams in the League, they still managed to box their way to the most closely fought WSB Finals ever seen last season, and came close to finishing on top of Group A, a couple of weeks ago until they were pipped to the post at the last minute by the Dolce & Gabbana Italia Thunder.

In the meantime, Russia has had a team in the WSB since the very first season in 2010, and has gone from strength to strength since then, even beating the mighty Cuba Domadores in their last match.

“AIBA, as a part of the greater Olympic Family, strongly believes in and promotes through its competitions the Olympic values – fair-play, excellence and friendship. Therefore I want to express my gratitude to both Franchises for having organized this match and the return leg, in line with the main principles of Olympism, not to mention, the overall professional behaviour in which they approached the preparation process”.

“On April 6, we will be celebrating the very first International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. I strongly believe that sport can drive peace around the world. And I know that this WSB quarter-final will be the perfect symbol of that”.

The President of the Russian Boxing Team and WSB Commission Vice Chairman, Mr Maxim Shabarin said “As the Russian Boxing Team has to face the Ukrainian Team in the quarter-finals and our opponents have lined-up their strongest boxers, our team has been training very hard to be in their best shape for this match”.

The President of the Ukrainian Boxing Federation and of the Ukraine Otamans Franchise, Mr. Volodymyr Prodyvus, also flew to Moscow to support his team for the match. “First of all I would like to congratulate the Ukrainian and the Russian Teams for qualifying to the WSB Season IV quarter-finals. We will soon witness an encounter in the ring between these two boxing super powers. The Franchises have great sporting traditions and both teams can be truly considered to be among the main challengers to win the WSB Finals this season. I am convinced that the upcoming match between the Ukraine Otamans and the Russian Boxing Team will play an important role not just in a sporting sense, but it will also help to unite the fans from Ukraine and Russia around a common interest. I expect a number of bright and uncompromising fights from this match. We respect our opponents, we are focused on victory and we will do our best to realize our goal which is to advance to the next stage of the competition”.