LE CRUNCH DEUX
Britain and France meet again in the first leg of the World Series of Boxing quarter-final
THE British Lionhearts and French Fighting Roosters renew hostilities in the quarter-final of the World Series of Boxing.
The Salle Wagram in Paris hosted the first leg, a fine match, layered with intrigue which the French side won 3-2.
But those two Lionheart victories, courtesy of Conor Loftus and
David Nyika, could prove vital and keep the British team in touch ahead of the second leg of the quarter-final, which takes place on May 20 at York Hall in London.
Nyika, a 21-year-old New Zealander signed by the Lionhearts franchise, made his WSB debut and impressed. He boxed with his hands low and with a certain swagger. Outfoxing Kevin Kuadjovi over the first two rounds, Nyika told Paul Walmsley in the corner that he was going to step it up in the next round. He did just that. Lining up sharp crosses, he trapped Kuadjovi in a corner, handing him a standing count before wobbling Kuadjovi and halting him at 2-46 of the third round.
The Lionhearts lost their first two contests of the match, with two of Britain’s finest, Galal Yafai and
Peter Mcgrail losing on points.
Samuel Carmona Heredia, the Spaniard who beat Paddy Barnes at the last Olympic Games, outscored Yafai at 49kgs.heredia boxed smartly, staying on the backfoot, shooting his right hand into Galal’s body and countering with whipping right hooks. Gradually Yafai applied sensible pressure in the last two rounds, pushing Heredia back but it wasn’t enough to turn it around on the scorecards, losing a wide unanimous decision.
Mcgrail rematched tall bantamweight Samuel Kristohurry. The Liverpudlian had beaten him when their teams met in the group stage. Kristohurry had learned from the experience. He kept his long arms working in the opening two rounds, throwing combinations and landing his right. If the bout was edging away from Peter, he boxed himself back into it, slotting in good southpaw lefts. It all came down to the last round but the Frenchman started the fifth well, catching Mcgrail with uppercuts. Kristohurry took a split decision.
At light-welterweight Conor Loftus beat Hassan Amzile in a bout the whole tie could hinge on. Amzile used his height and range effectively, catching him with long shots. But Loftus kept raising his intensity, grinding forward, moving his head and slamming in hard southpaw punches. Both put in a tremendous effort but the decision was unanimous and went to Loftus.
Luca Plantic, a Croatian on the Lionhearts franchise, was in a commanding position on cards going into the last round. But he tired. France’s Rachid Achoui had him in desperate trouble. The referee handed Plantic an eight count before Achoui forced a stoppage at 2-13 of the fifth round.
The second leg will be held at York Hall on Saturday 20 May 2017. Tickets are on sale now at www. theticketfactory.com.