But victory for super heavyweight Joe Joyce, at York Hall in London, gave the hom' some positive news as he continued his pursuit of a Rio 2016 Olympic qualification.

With only one quota place available in the super heavyweight division, Joyce has needed to be in imperious form throughout the WSB and his unanimous points victory over the Abdelijalil Abouhamda keeps him in pole position in the individual rankings.

Astana Arlans Kazakhstan's overseas boxer Filip Hrgovic and Azerbajian Baku Fires' Arlanbek Makhmvdov trail Joyce in second and third in the overall standings, with the two men set to face each other this weekend in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

"Qualifying for the Olympics is my goal with WSB so it was important to get the win tonight," Joyce said after his fifth successive win of the season.

"My two main rivals box each other this weekend and the right result could mean I stay top of the rankings.

"There are quite a few permutations though so we will just have to see what happens and assess the situation after they have boxed."

Morocco Atlas Lions' Achraf Kharroubi also boosted his prospects for Rio 2016 as he moved into second position in the light flyweight division rankings following he narrowest of points victories over the Lionhearts' overseas fighter, Spain's José Kelvin de la Nieve.

Nieve, who was born in Dominican Republic but became a Spanish citizen in 2000, was deemed to have won the fight 48-47 on one judge's scorecard, however the other two judges awarded the fight to Kharroubi by the same margin.

Morocco Atlas Lions are now fifth in Group A after four wins and six defeats ©WSB



Peter Mullenberg also claimed a split decision victory for the Atlas Lions in his light heavyweight bout with Joshua Buatsi.

But Luke McCormack earned a win on his debut for the British Lionhearts, overcoming Abdellah Boudrar in the lightweight division with a unanimous points decision in his favour.

Morocco Atlas Lions earned victory on the night after the judges had their fighter Mohamed Rabli leading on their scorecards when his welterweight fight with Ekow Essuman was stopped following accidental cut to his head which forced Rabli to retire. 

The Morocco Atlas Lions will hope to take that form into their next fight against the Ukraine Otmans on March 27, while the following day the British Lionhearts will aim to get back to winning ways against the Algeria Desert Hawks.

Group A's headline fixture this weekend takes place in Moscow tomorrow, where the Russian Boxing Team's unbeaten home record will be put to the test by the WSB defending champions the Cuba Domadores, who are yet to lose this season.

Four Group B fixtures are due to take place on Saturday (March 21), which include Astana Arlans Kazakhstan bidding for a tenth successive WSB victory when they host Azerbajian Baku Fires in Shymkent.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
March 2015: Astana Arlans Kazahkstan earn ninth successive World Series of Boxing victory
March 2015: Alan Hubbard: Joe Joyce is painting a pretty picture in and out of the ring
March 2015: Cuba Domadores and Russian Boxing Team triumph again in World Series of Boxing
March 2015: Ukraine Otamans end World Series of Boxing rut with away win over British Lionhearts
March 2015: Azerbaijan Baku Fires continue superb World Series of Boxing form