Baku Fires to battle with Ukraine Otomans

Following the first leg of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) quarter-final when Ukraine Otamans inflicted a tough 5-0 on Azerbaijan Baku Fires in Kyiv, the whole boxing word is in a fever of expectation for the second leg in Baku this Saturday at the Sarhadchi Olympic Sports Center.
The first battle of this emotional return leg match will be entrusted to two well-prepared boxers. Magomed Kurbanov and his perfect WSB record (5-0) will be the Azerbaijan`s Bantamweight (50-54kg) weapon, while Ukraine Otamans will bring the footwork master Alexandr Riscan. This is a difficult one to predict but Kurbanov`s power could make the difference.
Probably one of the most exciting fights in the history of WSB will take place at Lightweight (57-61kg) between Azerbaijan Baku Fires` Albert Selimov and Ukraine Otamans` Vasyl Lomachenko.

The Ukrainian supremo Lomachenko and the highest ranked Lightweight (57-61kg) Selimov have just met twice in their career, but their confrontations are since in the legend of the sport. Lomachenko is unbeaten since 2007, with the exception of against Selimov, who smudged this perfect pathway defeating the Ukrainian idol in a narrow final at the AIBA World Boxing Championships Chicago 2007. Since then, Lomachenko was dreaming of revenge. That happened a year later when the Ukrainian eliminated Selimov in the first preliminary round of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games before winning the gold medal and the best boxer trophy.
Looking for the highest possible confidence for this match, the Azerbaijan Baku Fires have named unbeaten (6-0) Mikalai Vesialou to compete at Middleweight (68-73kg). His rival this Friday will be Oleksandr Strets`ky who started his WSB career on a victory over British Lionhearts` Aston Brown. But this was his only bout in the league so far. The Ukrainian will probably use his physical advantage to overcome Vesialou`s tactical skills.

Light Heavyweight (80-85kg) Individual Champion last season and unbeaten (13-0) Ramazan Magomedov is expected to bring another point to his team when he faces Sergey Lapin. The latter has so far lost all of his three previous WSB fights and his Azeri opponent might just be too tough for him.

Azerbaijan Baku Fires last hopes have been put in Heavyweight (91+kg) Abdulkadir Abdullayev fists. His strong right jabs will be his best weapon against Ukraine National Champion Dmytro Rudenkyi. The Otaman will come to Baku as a WSB newcomer with the difficult task to take on a 6-1 experienced fighter. He is thus given the perfect occasion to demonstrate his aggressive boxing style.

If the home Franchise manages to remain unbeaten after five bouts, the decision will come from a Middleweight (68-73kg) tiebreaker against Jaba Khositashvili and Yevgeniy Barabanov.


/AzerTAc/