Mumbai: The Venky’s Mumbai Fighters, in a dramatic turn over, kept their hopes of entering the quarter finals alive in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) round four match at the T-Box Mobile Arena in the Inorbit Mall, Malad. The Indian franchise demolished Los Angeles Matadors in some style with a clean sweep. With two walkovers in the favour of Venky’s Mumbai Fighters and three wins out of total four bouts, the team has moved up to 3rd position in Group A with 7 points on Friday evening here.
The parking bay for shoppers at the mall wore an altogether new look with the stunning T-Box Mobile Arena set up for the first time for the World Series of Boxing (WSB) season 2011-12. The glittering evening was filled with music and strong support from the home crowd of about over 900 boxing enthusiasts. This was the first match of WSB in Mumbai.
The Union Sports Minister, Mr Ajay Maken, present to witness the event said, “I have invited the WSB to organize bouts in New Delhi at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium at Talkatora. We are committed to spread more awareness on boxing in India.”
Among six teams in the group, the match against Los Angeles Matadors was the fourth. Earlier, the lost 2-3 to Milano Thunder, 0-5 to Dynamo Moscow and got a walkover over Bangkok Elephants. In the points table, the Fighters were placed 5th with 4 points before taking on Los Angeles Matadors on Friday.
In the first bout of the day, Venky’s Mumbai Fighters got a walkover as the match was an exhibition fight. Jitender Kumar fought Argentine Joet Gonzalez in the bantamweight category. The Haryana boxer entered the ring with aggression coming heavily on Gonzalez and maintained his winning streak throughout the rounds sealing the win with the unanimous decision of judges.
The winning streak continued for the Fighters when in the Lightweight category Siddharth Varma beat Eric Fowler again in a unanimous decision of judges by 48:47, 48:47, 48:47.
Following Siddharth’s win was the bout of middleweight category. Irishman Patrick Gallagher for Venky’s Mumbai Fighters entered the ring with a promising start and gave Russell Lamour 48:47, 48:47, 47:48.
The next bout in Light Heavyweight category was a walkover as Matadors opponent Levan Guledani didn’t appear. Fighters’ Marko Calic got a walkover.
The last bout and showstopper of the evening was between Paul Koon of Mumbai Fighters and Javier Torres of Los Angeles Matadors. Like any heavyweight contest, the bout ended on a high pitch leaving the home crowd cheering for the home team with Paul winning on unanimous decision with 49:46, 49:46, 49:46.
Results
BANTAMWEIGHT
Jitender Kumar vs Joet Gonzalez
Result: Walkover for Jitender Kumar
LIGHTWEIGHT
SIDDHARTH VARMA VS ERIC FOWLER
Result: Winner - Siddharth Varma 3:0
MIDDLEWEIGHT
PATRICK GALLAGHER VS RUSSELL LAMOUR
Result: Winner - Patrick Gallagher (2:1)
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
MARKO CALIC VS LEVAN GULEDANI
Result: Walkover for Marko Calic
HEAVYWEIGHT
PAUL KOON VS JAVIER TORRES
Result: Winner - Paul Koon (3:0)
