Turkiye Conquerors and the China Dragons are due to meet in the opening WSB Season VI clash ©WSB

Turkiye Conquerors are poised to make their World Series of Boxing (WSB) debut as Season VI gets underway this weekend.

The new franchise will enjoy the support of a home crowd at Istanbul’s Bagcilar Sport Complex tomorrow (January 16) as they face the China Dragons, who participated in the competition for the first time last year.

It will be the first time for six years that a Turkish team have participated following the Istanbul Bospherous taking part in the opening two seasons.

The Conquerors, whose logo features the date 1453 to mark the rise of the Ottoman Empire and a time of proud Turkish Warriors, are confident they will be able to make a strong impact despite having a young team.

London 2012 Olympian Yakup Sener will lead the Turkish squad into the contest, with the under 64 kilogram fighter set to take on WSB newcomer Meng Caicheng.

The evening is due to begin with a bout between the China Dragons' He Junjun and Conquerors overseas fighter Hamza Kartal, with the Moroccan hoping to secure an early victory in the 46 to 49kg light flyweight division for the hosts.

Having finished in sixth position in their group in 2015, the Dragons will be aiming for an improved display this season and will hope that their opening selection, which also includes Xu Boxiang, Zhao Minggang and Yu Fengkai, can get them off to an ideal start.

They will be aiming to use their experience to secure a place in the knock-out phase of the tournament, which has undergone a change in format with the number of groups having been expanded from two to four this season in order to accommodate all 16 teams.

Both teams will be hoping to get off to a winning start in Istanbul
Both teams will be hoping to get off to a winning start in Istanbul ©WSB

The bouts will be streamed live on the WSB YouTube channel, which can be accessed here.

Both the Dragons and Conquerors will face stiff competition in Group A from the Ukraine Otamans and the Cuba Domadores, with the latter having finished as last year’s runners-up.

As one of the two beaten semi-finalists in Season V, Mexico Guerreros head Group B, which also features the USA Knockouts, Morocco Atlas Lions and British Lionhearts.

Russian Boxing Team, who also suffered elimination at the penultimate stage of last season’s competition, face Rafako Hussars Poland, Argentina Condors and Caciques de Venezuela in Group C.

Defending champions Astana Arlans Kazakhstan are in Group D, alongside newcomers Uzbekistan Team as well as Azerbaijan Baku Fires and Puerto Rico Hurricanes.