Wolf conquer Miami: Arlans crush USA Knockouts 5:0

The Wolves have arrived to Miami to face ranked 4 in the Group B USA Knockouts on March 27, Tengrinews reports.

Earlier, the Astana Arlans took the American team down with 5:0 in Karaganda, Kazakhstan.

In the first bout of the night, the fearless Arlan Temirtas Zhussupov faced Franco Joshua in the light flyweight (-49 kg). Zhusspov started showering Joshua with head shots from the get go without letting the American boxer a chance to fight back. The Kazakh boxer dominated the ring throughout the following rounds. In turn, Joshua did not look as confident in the ring as his opponent and kept his guard up throwing less jabs at Temirtas. The Arlan won the bout on points by a split decision of the judges 2:1.

Meirbolat Toitov, Arlans’ trusted veteran, fought against Francisco Martinez in the bantamweight (-56 kg) division. Toitov kept his distance displaying beautiful footwork in the first round. In turn, Martinez attacked his opponent with vigor right from the beginning and won the first round. In the following round, Toitov increased his attacks, while keeping his distance. In the second half of the bout, the Arlan led the fight with confidence and ease countering close range attacks of the American boxer. In the end, Meirbolat Toitov once again brought victory to his team by the unanimous decision of the judges 49:46, 49:46, 49:46.

The captain of the Wolves Samat Bashenov got in the ring against Tyker Irby in the light welterweight (-64 kg) category. Bashenov started off in his slow paced manner increasing the tempo with each round. Irby managed to land more attacks on his Arlan opponent in the first half of the bout. But classy boxer Bashenov proceeded with connecting combinations and powerful jabs. Despite Irby's attempts to dictate the pace of the fight, the experienced captain did not yield. Bashenov snatched the victory by a split decision from the worthy opponent Irby. Bashenov brought the third win of the night and the victory over USA Knockouts with 3:0.

The undefeated middleweight (-75 kg) Meirim Nursultanov fought against the WSB debutant Kalvin Henderson of USA Knockouts. The 21 y.o. Kazakh was faster and masterfully slipped away from Henderson’s attacks. The American was not as lucky and missed a good number of Nursultanov’s powerful jabs. In the fifth round, Nursultanov caught Henderson with a solid uppercut. It sure seems Nursultanov feels more comfortable in the middleweight than in the welterweight division. The Arlan scored a beautiful victory over his less experienced opponent by the unanimous decision of the judges.

The last fight of the night traditionally brought the heavyweight fighters (-91 kg) in the ring. WSB’s #1 heavyweight Vassiliy Levit faced Adrian Taylor. Previously Levit finished his bouts by TKOs. The debutant of the WSB Taylor could not have gotten the tougher opponent than Levit. The Kazakhstani undefeated boxer stalked Taylor across the ring with persistence. Levit connected his mean jabs and crosses, but Taylor admirably stood up all 5 rounds and managed to land some serious punches of his own. Relentless Levit, to the “Vasya, Vasya” chants of Kazakhstani fans, defeated his opponent with 46:49, 46:49, 45:49.

The Astana Arlans – USA Knockouts bout on the 11th week of the WSB Season 5 concluded with the victory of Kazakhstani Wolves.

The videos of the Astana Arlans - USA Knockouts fights are available on the Astana Arlans official Vk.com group.

On week 12, the Wolves will fight the Hurricane in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Astana Arlans face Puerto Rico Hurricane on April 11.

Meanwhile, the Arlans retain the first place in the Group B.

By Gyuzel Kamalova