Week four of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) Americas is upon us and features team rematches from week three of the season and the WSB debuts for six new boxers. All four Americas franchises will look to close out the first third of the season with a victory and build momentum for when boxing resumes for week five beginning January 5.
This week’s home teams, the Memphis Force and the Mexico City Guerreros, will be looking to exact some revenge upon losses suffered at the hands of the Los Angeles Matadors and the Miami Gallos last week. Meanwhile, both the Matadors and Gallos will be looking to break a visiting team skid for WSB Americas teams that now stands at six matches with no road team having earned a win away from home.
The Force (1-2) hope to even their record on Thursday, December 16 as the Matadors travel to Memphis for a rematch at the Desoto Civic Center in Southhaven, Miss, at 8 p.m. CT. With a 4-1 win last Sunday, the Matadors (2-1) currently lead the WSB Americas standings with eight points and 11 wins among their first 15 bouts to start the season.
The Force will feature a pair of Cleveland pugilists in 2008 Olympian Raynell Williams in the lightweight division along with Terrell Gausha at middleweight with both boxers having earned victories in their first WSB bouts on Nov. 26 in Southhaven. Making their WSB debuts for the Force will be bantamweight Ronny Beblik, a 2009 World Championships bronze medalist for Germany, along with two-time U.S. heavyweight champion Lenroy “Cam” Thompson (Uniondale, N.Y.). Light heavyweight Robert Brant (St. Paul, Minn.) will be looking to gather his first win as a WSB boxer having suffered a loss against the Guerreros on Nov. 19.
Traveling to Memphis representing the first-place Matadors will be three 2008 Olympians including two-time Olympian and 2007 World champion Rau’shee Warren (Cincinnati, Ohio). He’ll be joined by fellow Olympians Everton Lopes (Salvador de Bahia, Brazil)and middleweight Carlos Gongora, both of whom represented their respective countries at the 2008 Olympic Games. Heavyweight Javier Torres (Pico Rivera, Calif.) was impressive in his WSB introduction as well and will be competing against the Force. Light heavyweight Dorian Anthony (Long Beach, Calif.) is looking to rebound after a tough loss to 2008 Olympic silver medalist Kenny Egan in his first fight.
Memphis Force
Division Name Hometown
54 Kg Ronny Beblik Chemnitz, Germany
61 Kg Raynell Williams Cleveland, Ohio
73 Kg Terrell Gausha Cleveland, Ohio
85 kg Robert Brant St. Paul, Minn.
91+Kg Lenroy “Cam” Thompson Lenexa, Kan.
Los Angeles Matadors
Division Name Hometown
54 Kg Rau’Shee Warren Cincinnati, Ohio
61 Kg Everton Lopes Salvador de Bahia, Brazil
73 Kg Carlos Gongora Tene Napo, Ecuador
85 kg Dorian Anthony Long Beach, Calif.
91+ Kg Javier Torres Pico Rivera, Calif.
Miami Gallos vs. Mexico City Guerreros – Friday, December 17, 9 p.m. CT
Given the home teams have a 6-0 record against the visiting teams to start the WSB Americas season, it’s hard to say just which team might have the biggest home-field advantage, but it might start with Mexico City. Competing at nearly 7,300 feet in elevation has its benefits for the Guerreros, and they displayed that proudly on opening night of the WSB with a 5-0 convincing win over the Memphis Force. The road, however, hasn’t been as kind for the team as they’ve suffered two-straight losses against the Matadors (5-0) and the Miami Gallos (3-2).
Two of the boxers picking up wins in the first match return Friday to help bolster the Guerrero attack including middleweight Yamaguchi Florentino (Espirtu Santo, Brazil) and heavyweight Juan Hiracheta (Monterrey, Mexico).
The Mexico City Guerreros have put a stamp on the middleweight division to date in the World Series of Boxing behind the brother tandem of Yamaguchi and Esquiva Florentino. Yamaguchi won his debut bout on November 19 while his younger brother Esquiva broke through for the Guerreros last Thursday in a decisive victory over William Williams (Conyers, Ga.) of the Miami Gallos.
Making his WSB debut this week will be 2008 Olympian Oscar Valdez (Nogales, Mexico) in the lightweight division. Valdez qualified for the Olympic Games at age 17 with just three international bouts and at the 2009 World Amateur Boxing Championships, he won the bronze medal and became the first Mexican boxer in history to earn a medal at a World Championships.
Bantamweight Elias Emigdio (Zitlala, Mexico) will look to get things started for Mexico City while looking to rebound from a loss he suffered to Rau’shee Warren on November 28. Competition in the light heavyweight division won’t be contested as the Mexico City Guerreros are without an eligible boxer in that weight class.
The Guerreros team will be facing a Gallos squad that handed them a 3-2 loss in Miami last Thursday. This time, however, the Gallos feature two boxers stepping into the ring for the first
time in WSB action and another two boxers still looking for their first WSB wins.
Competing for the Gallos will be bantamweight Luis Miguel Diaz (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), lightweight Leonid Malkov (Kiev, Ukraine), middleweight Anthony Campbell (Covington, Tenn.) and heavyweight Craig Lewis (Detroit, Mich.). Paul Koon (Philadelphia, Pa.) was set to be the Gallos representative at the light heavyweight division and will earn a forfeit win given the Guerreros inability to fill a boxer in that weight class.
Both Diaz and Campbell lost their opening bouts of the WSB season while Malkov and Lewis will begin their seasons in Mexico.
Mexico City Guerreros
Division Name Hometown
54 Kg Elias Emigdio Zitlala, Guerrero, México
61 Kg Oscar Valdez Nogales, Mexico
73 Kg Yamaguchi Florentino Espirtú Santo, Brazil
91+Kg Juan Hiracheta Monterrey, Mexico
Miami Gallos
Division Name Hometown
54 Kg Luis Miguel Diaz S.D., Dominican Republic
61 Kg Leonid Malkov Kiev, Ukraine
73 Kg Anthony Campbell Covington, Tenn.
91+ Kg Craig Lewis Detroit, Mich.
