World Series of Boxing Season VIII Week 8 Preview

Caciques de Venezuela ready to host 2-time champions Cuba Domadores on back to back nights in Vargas

The Caciques of Venezuela take on rivals the Cuba Domadores on an epic weekend for Group America, as the South American team will be ready to put on a good show in front of their home fans for two consecutive nights of boxing in Vargas. The Caciques will field their strongest possible line-up to face one of the most solid teams in World Series of Boxing history, including the 2-time Olympic Champion Robeisy Ramirez among other World Champions.

Colombia Heroicos host the Uzbek Tigers in a tantalizing battle in Week 8

Week 8 of World Series of Boxing Season VIII first night sees the Colombia Heroicos host the Uzbek Tigers on Friday for the second time in this campaign, in a magnificent outdoor setting at the central square of Soledad. The first leg in Week 5 was successful one for the Tigers, who won 4-1 in Tashkent, but both sides will field strong teams as they seek to grab some much needed points to reach the Playoff stage.

China Dragons seeking a win in their season opener versus the Russian Patriots

China Dragons have a huge task ahead of them, for their first match of this Season facing the Russian Patriot

Team in Nanning City. The Chinese team will have to bring their best performance, as the Patriots are coming in full on confidence after the 5-0 victory against 3-time WSB champions Astana Arlans in Week 6.

Indian Tigers face Group Asia leaders Astana Arlans on first ever WSB night in Rohtak

The WSB action lands for the first time in Rohtak, India with the three-time WSB Champions the Astana Arlans Kazakhstan meeting Season VIII’s newcomers Indian Tigers on Saturday night in the newly constructed national boxing academy. The hosts will be looking to avenge their defeat from earlier in the season in Karaganda City. The Arlans have again impressed so far this year, but a rare defeat at the hands of the Patriot Boxing Team in Week 6 shows the Indians that anything is possible as they will be dreaming about what would be a famous victory in front of their home fans.

New Teams, Big Names and Defending Champions Confirmed For WSB Season VIII

On the first weekend of February 2018, the bell will ring in a new season of World Series of Boxing, AIBA’s unique global team boxing competition that continues to evolve and entertain all around the world as it enters Season VIII. The format will follow the successful three-group, regional regular season and global play-offs, with the Croatian Knights franchise joining for the first time to battle it out for qualification from Group Europe, while Group Asia welcomes a team from India for the first time. Just as it was last year, all of the action can be enjoyed by boxing fans both via local broadcasters and live streaming on WSB social media channels.

“In terms of the quality and excitement of boxing on show, entertainment and production levels and our global audience reach, WSB Season VII set new standards for our sport. In Season VIII, we can now go even further, with India’s vast and growing appetite for boxing adding a new dimension to the 2018 competition and the Croatian Knights bringing with them all of that great nation’s boxing history,” said AIBA Interim President Franco Falcinelli.

The Astana Arlans will face China Dragons, the all-new India team and Patriot Boxing Team from Russia in Group Asia, while the Croatian Knights will begin their first season against the British Lionhearts, France Fighting Roosters and Italia Thunder in Group Europe. In Group Americas, Season VII Finalists Cuba Domadores will be looking to equal the Arlans’ record and win a third title of their own, but face stiff competition from Colombia Heroicos and Venezuela Caciques.

“After the dramatic Season VII final, Astana Arlans are preparing to make history and assert ourselves once more on the WSB competition. The boxers love the format and it has helped them develop and grow as athletes and the competition has truly brought boxing to new audiences. The team is preparing to defend the title we won last year against Cuba Domadores and we are confident that we can reach our fifth final,” said Astana Arlans Kazakhstan General Manager Sayat Abildin.

Among the boxers taking part will be a host of Champions and medallists from the 2017 AIBA World Championships in Hamburg, and the eleven teams will be able to recruit available national and international boxers to their squads. WSB has now closed its foreign boxer registrations for Season VIII, with 196 foreign entries confirmed from 42 different countries. Boxers at the beginning of their professional careers are welcome to participate. The deadline for teams to recruit from the available list will be mid-January, with the full line-ups to be confirmed shortly after.

“We are delighted to have a Croatian team making its debut in the World Series of Boxing for the first time in Season VIII. The competition is part of our strategy to help our boxers to secure a successful Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification pathway. Several members of the side have already amassed significant WSB experience with the likes of British Lionhearts and Astana Arlans and will be sharing that precious know-how with their teammates, allowing Croatian Knights to go into the competition confident of making a big impact and progressing through to the play-offs,” said Croatian Knights General Manager Mladen Mikolcevic.