Blockbuster Weekend as Milano and Baku Lead the Charges

Thrilling weekend of boxing with six matches played out over three action-packed days. With it being the last round of fixtures before the winter break, all teams were fired up wanting to end the year on a high. Astana Arlans put in a masterclass as they completely dominated the Venky's Mumbai Fighters in India. Paris United kick-started their season with a priceless away win in Germany against the highflying Leipzig Leopards before Istanbul Bosphorus recorded their first triumph of the season with a performance full of verve against the Beijing Dragons. Early favourites Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder were made to work hard for their victory against tough Russian outfit Dynamo Moscow. Baku Fires themselves seem to get better every week after conquering the Mexico City Guerreros and finally Bangkok Elephants were given a harsh introduction to life in WSB after being overpowered by the Los Angeles Matadors.

Full results and rankings

Schedule

Relive all the matches on www.worldseriesboxingtv.com

Match of the week

Setting the pace and the bar high this season in WSB, the Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder have simply been irresistible so far in the competition. Having enjoyed five wins from their five matches in Group A, the Italian outfit sit pretty at the top of the table with maximum points. They faced this weekend a real test of their credentials as title contenders with the visit of the battle-hardened Dynamo Moscow. The team from the Italian city of fashion knew that their opposition could not be taken lightly so lined-up almost all their big-hitters to counter the threat posed by the visitors. With the scores tied a 1:1, Milano knew they were in a battle and that nothing could be taken for granted. Step up the reigning WSB Middleweight Individual Champion Sergiy Derevyanchenko who showcased his class to maintain his unblemished record and win against the tricky Maxim Gazizov. Dynamo Moscow's powerful Russian Eudard Yakushev then went toe-to-toe with Ludovic Groguhe in a tense battle in which the Frenchman prevailed to ensure the overall victory for Milano. Italian superstar Clemente Russo then wrapped up proceedings with a tactical triumph against the much taller Arslanbek Makhmudov. Although the 4:1 scoreline might look comprehensive, the Italian outfit knew that this was their toughest test yet and that the quality of opposition would only get stronger as they go deeper into the competition.

Fight of the week

Evenly matched throughout, the Leipzig Leopards vs. Paris United Group B contest was a real nail-biter in Germany. It was the Kevin Kuenzel against Frenchman Rachid Khadda fight that really stood out with both boxers exchanging some heavy blows with hardly anything to choose between the two after four enthralling rounds. Leipzig Leopards' Kuenzel, at 23 years of age, is still a work in progress but an astute tactical mind has ensured two telling victories in his first two bouts in his debut WSB season. Against Khadda, the young German was full of poise and sensing his opponent was tiring in the fifth round he cleverly unleashed a thunderous left uppercut to the body then a swift right left combination to send his opponent sprawling to the canvas.

Thrashing of the week

The T-Box Mobile Arena at the InOrbit Mall in India was the scene of joyous celebrations only last week when the Venky's Mumbai Fighters recorded their first win of the season. But this weekend they were given a lesson in efficiency as the gulf in class was completely exposed with the Astana Arlans running riot in Group A to win 5:0. Indian southpaw Balbir Singh was ultimately outboxed by the high work-rate of the young Khabibulla Ismail-Akhunov as the visiting team took the early advantage. Followed was the much anticipated showdown between Mumbai's Olympian Diwakar Prasad and top ranked Lightweight Kazak Yerzhan Mussafirov. Despite taking the first two rounds, Prasad quickly ran out of steam as Mussafirov cranked up the pressure in the third to win by TKO with some devastating body blows. It was more of the same as Mumbai Fighters' Croatian Vrgoc who after a promising start was overawed by another Kazak prospect in MIras Bairkhanov. Astana Arlans then quickly wrapped up an impressive whitewash victory with Algeria's deadly duo Benchabla and Bouloudinats putting the gloss on an emphatic scoreline.

Spotlight on...

19-year-old Belarusian Leanid Charnabayeu of the Venky's Mumbai Fighters came out of his points defeat to reigning WSB Light Heavyweight Champion Abdelhafid Benchabla with a reputation enhanced, having caused serious problems for his opponent throughout this high-intensity bout. A classy compact fighter, Charnabayeu who undaunted as he faced the No.1 ranked fighter in the division, hounding him down at every opportunity and catching him with some solid hooks. Although Benchabla had the reach, speed and skills to deal and win against the stubborn Charnabayeu, the Belarusian will have taken great heart from this impressive performance and no one will want to fight him now. WSB has surely once again unearthed a genuine boxing talent.

Rest of the action

Defending Champions Paris United had looked out of sorts in the early sages of the season but have slowly put themselves back into contention. This time with a real smash and grab performance in Germany after defeating Leipzig Leopards 3:2. The night began as Ronny Beblik and Alexandr Riscan fought out a tense battle in which the later prevailed, then enter Irishman John Joe Nevin who gave the visiting team the advantage after excelling against Rashid Kassem. Our featured preview "Fight of the week" did not disappoint in the slightest as local favourite Stefan Haertel and Michel Tavares tussled for five sumptuous rounds but it was the impressive French southpaw Tavares who came out on top in a split decision win as he extended his WSB record to seven wins one loss. This result giving Paris United an unassailable 3:0 lead and the overall victory. Kuenzel and Philipp Gruner ensured the deficit was reduced as they both won to give the Leipzig Leopards vital bonus points in the race for quarter-finals qualification from Group B.

Istanbul Bosphorus will have been delighted with their first win of the season as they overcame a resilient Beijing Dragons side to move away from the foot of the Group B table. Finally giving their fans something to get excited about, the transformed Turkish outfit outwitted their visiting opponents in a performance full of verve and vigour. The camp will have taken great pride in the display of their boxers, especially that of their foreign contingent with Georgian Middleweight Jaba Khositashvili and Ukrainian Heavyweight Oleksiy Sivko leading the way to a sensational 4:1 victory. One to watch is Bahram Muzaffer who made it two wins in two for himself this season and looks to gaining more and more confidence with every bout.

Baku Fires continued their unbeaten start to the season with a display of utter dominance against the Mexico City Guerreros to lead Group B. A show of brilliant attacking intent by all of their fighters ensured the raucous crowd at the Olympic Sports Centre 'Serhedchi' in the heart of the Azeri capital was treated to a spectacular show as the home team thumped their opponents 5:0. The question now is if any team can actually stop the Baku Fires in this Group, after so far dismantling every opponent that they have faced, with their squad looking stronger than ever.

Last but not least, the Bangkok Elephants made their long-awaited debut in the competition this weekend with a trip to the Music Box to face a Los Angeles Matadors team still seething from their defeat to the Venky's Mumbai Fighters. Never an easy venue to go to, youngster Wuttichai Masuk worked hard in the first bout of the evening but was in the end unsuccessful as he succumbed to defeat against the experienced Ukrainian Leonid Malkov. Irishman Jason Quigley then wowed the crowds with an a stunning TKO victory against Australian newcomer Troy O'Meley before Sijuola Shabazz triumphed over another Aussie within two rounds to give LA the overall victory. Sean 'Showtime' Turner excelled to beat Anatolii Antoniuk before American star and three time Olympian Rau'Shee Warren made it a clean sweep after overcoming the strong challenge of Donchai Thathi in the battle of the Bantamweight southpaws. Warren extending his WSB record to seven wins no losses. Following this resounding 5:0 victory, the Los Angeles Matadors moved up to third in Group A. This match though was all about raising awareness for the children of Thailand affected by the severe floods that have plagued the country for months now, so to get involved or to donate, please visit www.SOS-USA.org/boxing.

Boxer of the week

Look no further than 20-year-old Turkish orthodox fighter Bunyamin Aydin who overcame the odds to defeat the reigning WSB Lightweight Champion Zhimin Wang by unanimous points decision as the Istanbul Bosphorus triumphed over the Beijing Dragons. This was a coming of age performance by the local fighter who had before this not won any of his previous four WSB bouts. Aydin showed tremendous attacking intent to stifle the fleet footed Wang in what was in the end a comprehensive victory. The question will now be if he can learn from this magnificent performance and climb the ranking by extending his winning streak. If he repeats the performance he had against the tough Chinese fighter, there is no reason why he cannot.

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