TheSportsCampus

It is getting serious now with so much at stake and what a weekend of World Series of Boxing action we have in prospect as the big guns once again take centre stage. Some awesome bouts lined-up with teams fighting for final league positions and also the sub-plot with the race for the Individual Championships now truly on.

The mouth-watering Astana Arlans vs. Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder fight kick-starts a series of five power packed matches as the Venky's Mumbai Fighters host the Bangkok Elephants and Istanbul Bosphorus reserve a hot reception for the visiting Leipzig Leopards. Dynamo Moscow face the Los Angeles Matadors before Paris United make the trip to the Azeri capital to challenge the undefeated runaway Group B leaders, the awesome Baku Fires.

Match of the week

It does not get any bigger than this, with the Astana Arlans seeking to reign supreme in Group A, as they host the Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder at the Almaty Sports Palace on Friday. Not only will this be a titanic struggle between two of the biggest teams in the competition, but some of the stellar names of this exciting WSB will strut their stuff on the canvas as the race for Individual ranking positions hots up. Sparks will fly from the off, with Bantamweight Ukrainian southpaw, Vitaliy Volkov looking to make his experience count and give the Italian outfit the early advantage. Astana's Merey Akshalov, who has been exceptional so far this season, will then look to assert his authority against Miklos Varga in the Lightweight contest before all eyes turn to the eagerly anticipated match-up between knock-out king Kanat Slam and Middleweight Champion Sergiy Derevyanchenko. This monumental battle is sure to get the fans up on their feet from the first bell. The spectators will be treated to a festival of boxing all evening, as the action intensifies when fierce rivals Abdelhafid Benchabla and Ludovic Groguhé once again lock horns in the night's Light Heavyweight contest. This one will be on a knife edge.

Fight of the week

With so much quality throughout this weekend, it was hard to pick a single contest. However the explosiveness of the Heavyweights is always a big crowd pleaser so we are very excited about the prospect of seeing Istanbul Bosphorus' Belarusian southpaw Viktar Zuyev go toe-to-toe with the imposing Alexander Povernov of the Leipzig Leopards. Both are undefeated mean fighting machines, so fireworks should be in store for this one.

Rest of the action

Venky's Mumbai Fighters host the Bangkok Elephants in a crucial match for both teams. The Indian Franchise needs the win to stay within touching distance of quarter-final qualification from Group B, they, however, face a confident Bangkok team. Once again the T-Box Mobile Arena at the In-Orbit Mall in Mumbai will be the setting for this sure-to-be tightly contested match. With five foreign boxers representing the home team, the Fighters will be relying on Belarusian Light Heavyweight Leanid Charnabayeu and the imposing 22-year-old Heavyweight Uaine Fa to lead the charges and take the win in front of their fans.

Dynamo Moscow have been solid this year and have been quietly going about their business in Group A and will surely have too much firepower when the Los Angeles Matadors come to town. In their ranks will be 2011 AIBA World Championships bronze medallist Anvar Yusunov, the excellent 21-year-old Adlan Abdurashidov and most importantly the solid Middleweight Aleksandr Ivanov who was so impressive in his victory against Kanat Slam. We have been looking forward to seeing the classy 26-year-old orthodox Ivanov once again demonstrating his repertoire of stinging shots.

The Baku Fires can ensure top spot in Group B if they can defeat the visiting Paris United on Saturday. Once again the Azeri outfit have four undefeated boxers stepping through the ropes with a combined 20 fights experience, of which top ranked Bantamweight Gairbek Germakhanov, top ranked Lightweight Madadi Nagzibekov, Light Heavyweight No.2 Ramazan Magomedau and fresh form dishing out a TKO to his last opponent, the impressive Heavyweight Abdulkadir Abdullayev. The beacons of hope for Paris United will be fleet-footed southpaw Michel Tavares taking on the Middleweight challenge with Croatian duo Hrvoje Sep and Filip Hrgovic putting up the resistance in the Light Heavy and Heavyweight fights respectively. This should be a cracker.

Two teams that have a lot to prove following some unconvincing performances this year are Istanbul Bosphorus and Leipzig Leopards who will come face-to-face at the Bagcilar Olimpik Spor Kompleksi. The Turkish Franchise will be counting on the power of Jaba Khositashvili and, above all, crowd pleaser and local hero Bahram Muzaffer. Bantamweight stalwart Huseyin Dundar was impressive in his last bout, so will look to ensure a win for the home team. The Leopards will be banking on the prowess of Rashid Kassem, triple National Champion Patrick Wojcicki and the hard-hitting 21-year-old German Enrico Kölling who has a point to prove. Kölling will have the opportunity of exacting revenge on Muzaffer who defeated him earlier this season. The atmosphere is sure to be electric for this clash.

Boxer to watch

Look out for 24-year-old Cameroonian Romarcik Ngoula Tangoum of the Dolce & Gabbana Milano Thunder as he faces Astana Arlans' Ruslan Myrsatayev in the Heavyweight division. We have been informed that this orthodox fighter is absolutely awesome and is driven by an innate hunger and desire to become the best in the world. He has been training hard all winter to be at his peak for his debut.