Over the years boxing has traditionally been an individual sport. Boys from broken homes and street lives have turned to this sport as a positive outlet for their aggression. Just like in the movie Rocky, it’s possible for the average Joe to turn into a world-wide superstar in boxing and make the transition from the dusty old local boxing gym to the heavyweight champion of the world. But the trend was always the same, he always did it on his own. With a little help from his trainer and guidance from the right promoters it was always the performance of the individual that determined his own fate.
Organization
In 2010 all of that changed when the World Series of Boxing appeared on the scene. The concept is simple. Take an individual combat sport, like boxing, and apply the same formula that most other professional sports follow, such as football, basketball, baseball and hockey. In the WSB, fighters are part of a team. The teams are organized by countries. This year there are twelve teams divided into two groups of six. During the regular season, the teams face all the other teams in their group. The eight teams with the most points at the end of the season are put into a single elimination tournament, or playoffs.
The Drama
Whenever two teams face each other during the regular season, there are five fights on the card, each fight from a different weight class. The winner is the team which wins the best three out of five fights. So, not only is each individual boxer’s performance important, but also those of his teammates. In the playoffs, two-day cards are set up with a total of ten matches, five matches each day. If one series ends in a 5 - 5 tie, a tie breaker fight will take place to determine the winner.
The Boxers
All WSB fighters are amateur boxer. They are some of the top fighters in the world and many of them are Olympic medalists, World Champions, European Champions, etc. Last season (season III), over 50 WSB boxers were participants in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. Once turning pro, fighters can no longer participate.
Boxers are ranked individually according to their win / loss record within the WSB. This is in addition to the team aspect.
The Rules
In many ways WSB mixes amateur and professional rules. Fighters do not wear head gear. Each fight has five rounds with three minutes each round and a one-minute rest period between rounds. There is a ten point must system. Referees and judges are brought in from several different countries for each card.
The Teams
As is the case in professional boxing these days, Eastern countries seem to have a strong hold on the WSB. The 2012 / 2013 season saw Ukraine and Kazakhstan in the finals. Other strong teams included Azerbaijan, Mexico and Italy. This year a few new teams have emerged and the semi-finalists are Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Russia and Cuba with Cuba and Azerbaijan reaching the finals.
The date of this contest has yet to be announced, but in the meantime, to catch up on all great World Series of Boxing action, tune into FightBox all month long in May which includes the semi-finals and finals of last season! We’ve also got lots of other great boxing action including Gotham Boxing, Warrior Versus Warrior and Fightbox - AIBA Road to Dreams!
- Daniel Austin (Don Roid)
