ALMATY, Dec. 7 – The Astana Arlans remain undefeated in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) after dominating Mexico Guerreros, 4-1, in Almaty on Dec. 7. The Arlans previously bested Russian Boxing Team and the Azerbaijani Baku Fires.
The Guerreros have been struggling all season long, losing both their previous series 0-5, and presented a completely new roster for the series against the Arlans. The Guerreros’ head coach, Francisco Bonilla, explained that they needed to change something urgently, so they started experimenting. His experiments won the Guerreros one bout in the series, but weren’t enough to topple the Arlans team.
The evening started with a win in the 49 kg division by Kazakhstan’s 23-year-old debutant Mardan Berikbayev, who took out Jose Alberto Reyes Zaleta in a unanimous decision.
In the second bout, at 56 kg, Meirbolat Toitov outclassed opponent Sergio Chirino Sanchez. Toitov managed to knock Sanchez down in round three, and the outcome of the bout was clear from that point.
Sergey Derevyanchenko beat Diego De Jesus Merono Amador with a technical knockout in round four. It was his second consecutive TKO in less than a month, as he delivered one against the Baku Fires’ Mikalai Vesialou on Nov. 15.
The 91 kg bout was decided in three rounds, after Vasily Levit devastated Christian Dema with a few precise blows and the Mexican corner threw in the towel.
“[Levit] had an unpredictable debut,” said the Arlans’ head coach Sergey Korchinsky. “He needs to gain more experience. One can feel that he is uncomfortable in the ring, in this atmosphere. He tried to apply corrections throughout the fight, and even replied a few times, tried to change things. I think compared to the first bout, he has progressed,” the coach said.
The Arlans’ only loss came in the 64 kg division, when Zhanibek Azhibai lost to Christian Bielma.
“He took the first round, then we gave him instructions in the corner, but he didn’t execute them,” said Korchinsky. “We need to work more [with him]. Zhanibek had everything he needed to win the bout, but he let it go himself.” In their next series, the Arlans will face Cuba Domadores on Dec. 13 in Almaty.
