The “Tamers” of Cuba, undefeated and defenders of the title in their power, dismissed today the preliminary phase of the V World Series of Boxing (WSB, for its acronym in English), by sweeping the “Otomans” of Ukraine 5-0 in a duel held at the Coliseum of the Ciudad Deportiva de La Habana.
In the first fight of the night, weighing 52 kilograms, between Cuban Yosbany Veitía and Azat Usenaliev, from the Ukrainian team, the representative of the «Tamers» exhibited the technique, mobility, and elegant defense of a fly fighter.
The verdict of the judges was unanimous for Veitía, bronze in the Almaty World Cup and qualified for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In this luxury contest, in the 60 kilos the islander Lázaro Álvarez, double world champion, and the Ukrainian Viktor Slavinskyi, a brave boxer that the Cuban surpassed to score the seventh victory in this championship.
In the third fight of the cartel, of 69 kilograms, the Cuban Roniel Iglesias, Olympic champion of London 2010, demonstrated ample superiority over his rival Oleg Zubenko, ninth in the ranking, with open and effective blows.
Iglesias achieved his fifth win and recovered from the two consecutive defeats he has suffered in this Series.
In the fourth fight agreed, of 81 kilos, Julio César La Cruz fought, for the hosts, against the Ukrainian visitor Oleksandr Khyzhniak, 19 years old and runner-up for his country in 2014.
The 25-year-old La Cruz had a strong opponent, who even though he threw it twice on the ring was unable to dominate it or avoid the unanimous vote of the evaluators of the fight.
Worse, without a doubt, the shock of more than 91 kilograms, which seemed to become the only triumph of the Ukrainians, maintained a tense fight between its protagonists, Leinier Peró and heavyweight Ihor Shevadzutskyi, with an advantage of 60 pounds over the Cuban .
However, the lack of solid boxing technique and Shevadzutskyi’s slowness made it easier for Peró, already with signs of fatigue, to win the last fight of the cartel by divided vote (47-48, 48-47, 48-47).
After this poster that closed the knockout stage of the 2015 World Series, the “Tamers” continue in the position of leader of group A 42 points accumulated in 14 caps, in which they have achieved 63 victories and lost 7 fights.
The next appointment of the Cubans in the program of the V Series will be the semifinal matches that will be held on May 22 and 23 in Havana.