WSB. Uzbek Tigers secured a 3-2 victory over Cuba Domadores ahead of quarter final second leg

Two of the world’s great boxing nations met in Samarkand on Saturday for the first leg of their Season VII Quarter-Final, and it was the Uzbek Tigers who continued their superb Season VII form with a gritty display against reigning champions Cuba Domadores. The two squads contain some of the best boxers in the world today, and an entertaining match played out in the spectacular outdoor arena as the Tigers earned a confidence-boosting 3-2 win to take back to Havana for the second leg.

The evening was kicked off in grand style with Olympic Light Flyweight (49kg) Champion Hasanboy Dusmatov taking on World Champion Johanys Argilagos, and the Uzbek immediately showed the sparkling form that saw him win gold just a week ago at the ASBC Asian Championships, landing some devastating early blows and never allowing Argilagos the time to settle into his groove. With Dusmatov constantly looking to get on the front foot, the Cuban struggled to land sufficient scoring punches to convince the Judges, and the Uzbek’s lightning-fast hands helped him to a rousing unanimous win.

It was soon 2-0 to the hosts, with Murodjon Akhmadaliev outgunning Cuba Domadores’ previously unbeaten Javier Ibanez in a thrilling Bantamweight (56kg) encounter. The Uzbek worked his way into an early lead with some powerful lefts, but Ibanez came back into the contest, upping the tempo to good effect as the two exchanged thundering blows. It was too little too late, however, as the Tigers’ southpaw showed his stamina to hold off Ibanez’ challenge and extend the hosts’ advantage.

The Domadores finally got on the board thanks to Light Welterweight (64kg) Andy Cruz’s comprehensive victory over Tigers’ debutant Ikboljon Kholdarov.

But the hosts then restored their two-point advantage thanks to Israil Madrimov’s terrific performance against another Olympic Champion, Arlen Lopez, at Middleweight (75kg). Once the Uzbek had jabbed his way into the early lead, Lopez rarely looked like turning the bout around, struggling to find his range as Madrimov carved out an impressive, unanimous win.

That left the Heavyweights (91kg) Sanjar Tursunov and Erislandy Savon to close out the first leg, and it was the experienced Cuban who showed the young debutant the art of five-round boxing with an expert display of counter-attacking. Following a controlled win for the Domadores’ powerhouse, the Tigers take a slim one-point lead into the second leg in Havana, but the Cubans will be confident of progress, too, as they seek a route through to a fourth consecutive WSB final.

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