The semi-finals of the WSB commenced at the Kostanay Sport Palace in Kostanay as the Astana Arlans hosted the British Lionhearts.
Kicking off the action were the Light flyweights (49kg) with Temirtas Zhussupov versus Kiaran Macdonald. Neither man threw much in a very quiet opening round. Zhussupov got the better of round 2 with both choosing wisely when to let their hands go. The Kazak again shaded proceedings in the third with Macdonald simply not throwing enough punches. Zhussupov’s experience began to tell and despite a respectable effort from the WSB debutant it wasn’t enough and Zhussupov won a clean sweep on the cards putting the Arlans 1 up. Next up in the Bantamweight (56kg) division experienced Ilyas Suleimenov was up against Christopher Bourke who was making his WSB debut. Bourke landed some nice body shots in a tight opening 3 minutes. Suleimenov upped the ante a touch in round 2 but Bourke finished well and wasn’t looking out of his depth. Bourke had some success in round 3 but Suleimenov never looked in any trouble and was in control. Bourke enjoyed a decent first minute of the 4th but Suleimenov scored with some hurtful punches which lead to a badly damaged nose and Bourke was wisely retired by his corner at the start of the last round. In what looked on paper to be a potentially exciting contest at light welterweight (64kg) Dilnurat Mizhitov squared off against Conor Loftus. The styles gelled nicely in an entertaining opening stanza with Mizhitov picking off Loftus as he came in. Loftus showed some good movement and targeted the body well in round 2 as the pair were happy to trade and let go with plenty of punches. Mizhitov clearly won round 3 and was having the last word in the exchanges. Loftus scored with some good left hands in the 4th and the pair engaged in some terrific toe-to-toe action. Loftus was again competitive in the final round but couldn’t sustain it for long enough and Mizhitov claimed the shutout victory to leave the Lionhearts staring down the barrel at 3 nil down. It was then on to the Middleweights (75kg) as Abilkhan Amankul faced Nikita Ababiy. Amankul, who has been one of the finds of this season’s tournament made a confident start and landed with the more telling blows in round 1. Ababiy showed good intent but Amankul remain composed and picked his man off in round 2. Ababiy continued to be aggressive in round 3 but Amankul’s extra size and strength was beginning to tell. Ababiy continued to press and maintained an excellent work rate in the penultimate round. Amankul had his opponent on the ropes for spots in the last round and despite Ababiy being on the front foot throughout the contest it was the Kazak who was declared the winner via unanimous decision to give the Arlans a 4 nil lead. The final bout of the evening was at heavyweight (91kg) as Anton Pinchuk took on David Nyika. There wasn’t much to split them over the first 2 rounds with Pinchuk inching forward and Nyika aiming to keep the fight at range. Nyika used the jab to great effect in round 3 as Pinchuk was made to fall short with many of his attempted combinations. A point deduction and blood pouring from the nose added to Pinchuk’s issues in round 4 and by now Nyika was in full command. The home man needed a miracle to turn things around but that never looked likely and Nyika cruised to a wide point’s victory to give the Lionhearts a glimmer of hope going in to the second leg in London on Thursday.
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