WSB 2013-14: Germany 5-0 Algeria: Eagles fly past Hawks

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The German Eagles team made very short work of their visiting Algeria Desert Hawks opponents in their opening World Series of Boxing (WSB) match this year. This was a serious statement of intent from the German Franchise who is on a serious bid to make it to the Play-Offs this season.

Today we were fortunate enough to watch the Flyweights (52kg), Lightweights (60kg), Welterweights (69kg), Light Heavyweights (81kg) and Super Heavyweights (91+kg) competing.

Bout of the match
Arajik Marutjan of the Eagles took on Fehim Chabane at Welterweight. This was one of two extremely difficult debuts tonight, with the Algerian making his first ever appearance in the WSB against the man who recently took a bronze in the AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013. The German boxed with his lead hand low and moved his head like a cobra every time his opponent opened up. He showed significant class across all three rounds, boxing elegantly and showing superior conditioning to his Algerian opponent. He could be a force for Germany this year. His rival deserves praise for coming in against such tough opposition and handling the pressure as well as he did.

Boxer of the match
Erik Pfeifer took on Yaovi Agbonsong at Super Heavyweight. The AIBA World Boxing Championships Almaty 2013 bronze medallist and AIBA World number 5 ranked boxer represented a huge task (both figuratively and literally) for the WSB debutant Agbonsong. With 30 seconds remaining in the first, Pfeifer landed a huge right hand to give his man a standing eight count. After dropping twice in the second without being hit, the corner wouldn’t let their boxer continue into the third, giving Pfeifer an easy win. The German must be among those who will challenge for the number one slot on the Individual Rankings this year.

The turning point
Lightweight Emir Eminovic of the Eagles took on French boxer Oualid Belaoura. The southpaw German was an awkward target for the Desert Hawks’ boxer, with both fighters going through a very fast opening round and displaying amazing great evasion skills. The German was a bit of an enigma for his opponent; sometimes he would stand and brawl, other times he would evade like a snake. But Belaoura had phenomenal fitness and was able to box at an outstanding pace to push the bout close. By the end of the fourth round, with the bout very tight indeed and with both athletes fatiguing, the fifth round became a crucial affair. The German slipped to the canvas in the opening moments and local fans’ hearts were in their mouths when for a moment they thought it was a knockdown. It wasn’t though and the German did enough to edge out a victory and to take the Eagles to 2:0.

Wrap up
Hamza Touba took on Amine Khentache at Flyweight. The German looked the more comfortable at this level and used his speed and incredible evasion skills to ease his way through every round. The Algerian worked hard to stay in the game but was unable to match the experience of his opponent. The German took the win in a relaxed fashion.

Nineteen year old Hichem Kaalaour of the Algeria Desert Hawks took on Serge Michel at Light Heavyweight. The Desert Hawks’ boxer was taller and tried to make use of his jab and cross to catch the smaller Michel who took his time in analysing his young opponent. In the end the German eased his way through the bout, while the Desert Hawks youngster gave a good account of himself.

Coming up next
With Germany’s home match against the Ukraine Otamans postponed, they will instead face the Italia Thunder away in Week 3. This will be a massive test for the Eagles. Algeria in the meantime will be facing Italia Thunder at home and will need to work hard to regroup psychologically after today’s thumping.

Catch up!
Don’t miss out on anything with our new service AIBABoxingTV. Highlights of all matches are provided with commentary shortly after each match so that you can keep up with the season as it unfolds.