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Astana defeat Moscow in tight semi-final first leg PhilBoxing.com Sat, 24 Mar 2012 Lausanne, Switzerland, 23 March 2012 - Spectacle of the highest order as Astana Arlans and Dynamo Moscow battled it out in this captivating World Series of Boxing semi-final first leg (3:2). With the 'Daulet' Sports Complex in the heart of the Kazak capital packed to the rafters, there was an incredible atmosphere greeting both teams. These two Eastern rivals put on a real show with five electrifying bouts. Watch this match again on WSB TV The intriguing Bantamweight match-up between the experienced Mirzhan Rakhimzhanovof Astana Arlans and the 21-year-old Russian orthodox rising star Vladimir Nikitin lived up to its billing. With so much riding on this, there were some tentative early exchanges but as soon as Rakhimzhanov connected with the first clean punch, the crowd erupted and both boxers sparked into life. Fast and furious, it was anyone's fight. There was barely anything to choose between the two but Dynamo Moscow's Nikitin seemed to be doing the most damage and in the end it was the more positive and calculating Nikitin who prevailed following some excellent combination punches. What a start it was to this match with Moscow now with the early advantage in the tie. Kazak heavy-hitter Merey Akshalov was now charged with dragging Astana back on level terms againstone of WSB most accomplished Lightweight boxers, 27-year-old Belarusian southpaw Vazgen Safaryants. One of the headline fights of the evening with both boxers such quality technicians. These two extremely gifted fighters treated the fans to five rounds of sumptuous boxing. Akshalov came out of the blocks, firing on all cylinders, throwing punches from all angles as he took the first round in impressive style. Clearly buoyed by the crowd, the Kazak orthodox fighter continued his assault in the second round, much to the dismay of his opponent. The third was a real cracker with so many punches being thrown, but this time Safaryants subtle movement and compact style gave him the edge. With the Moscow southpaw now in the ascendancy, he looked to take the fight to his rival but his wild approach left him exposed as Akshalov landed some precise punches, one in particular almost sent Safaryants to the canvas. Unfortunately there could only be one winner in this contest. The speed and poise of the 23-year-old Akshalov was too much as he inflicted a first career WSB defeat on Safaryants. With the match now delicately poised at 1:1, Astana Arlans' 21-year-old prospect Miras Bairkhanov faced Vitali Bandarenka in the Middleweight contest. Even though the fighters were bigger, there was no drop in the intensity levels with both boxers going for it. Once again, two evenly matched rivals were going toe-to-toe with nothing to choose between them. Bairkhanov had to deal with a severely cut left brow from the fourth round but continued to look for the win. Undaunted by a seemingly bigger opponent, Bairkhanov just shaded the final round to take the overall victory and give his team the advantage in this pulsating semi-final first leg. The Russian orthodox fighter, Danil Shved, once again locked horns with Astana Arlans' Uzbek Ramzjon Ahmedov in the Light Heavyweight contest. We saw a repeat of the action in week 9. Shved has been immense so far and started the season brightly. However, his opponent has confirmed in the quarter-finals that he is one to keep an eye on, beating the Swedish Guerreros Kennedy Katende. Although the Arlans fighter lost the second round unanimously, he dominated the following two and started the final one with a clear and strong advantage. That was enough for him to take control of the last three minutes of the bout and inflict his first defeat on Shved in four WSB matches. Leading 3:1 already, the Kazakh went into the Heavyweight bout with maximum confidence and with a possibility to secure an interesting margin before going to Moscow next week. But having to go all for it in front of a defensive and 10 cm taller Sergey Kalchugin, local star Ruslan Myrsatayev was trapped in a body-to-body contest. Behind the scoreboard all the way, the Arlans even received a warning in the third round and in the end lost the bout 45:49, 47:47, 46:48. This was enough to keep the Russians happy, with a close overall defeat (3:2). These two teams meet again next week in the return leg, but who will be victorious in the final chapter of this exciting saga?  |
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