India to take on Russia in first WSB clash

India will be up against Russia in its first clash of the World Series of Boxing next month, a much-anticipated return to the semi-professional event sanctioned by the International Boxing Association.

The team has been named ‘Indian Tigers’ but the boxers, who will make up the outfit, have not yet been finalised. It will replace the defunct Mumbai Fighters, which pulled out in 2012 due to lack of support.

India will be up against Russia in its first clash of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) next month, a much-anticipated return to the semi-professional event sanctioned by the International Boxing Association (AIBA).

The team has been named ‘Indian Tigers’ but the boxers, who will make up the outfit, have not yet been finalised.

The franchise, fully owned by the Boxing Federation of India, will replace Mumbai Fighters, the team that had withdrawn in 2012 due to lack of support from the national body at that time.

The clash against Russia is scheduled to be in the first week of February, a Boxing Federation of India official confirmed.

In March, the country will host the Kazakhstan franchise on March 24. The other home clashes for India would be on April 20 and 21 against Russia and China respectively.

In the away schedule, India will take on Kazakhstan and China on February 10 and March 9 respectively.

India, Russia, Kazakhstan and China make for Group Asia in the eighth edition of the event.

The WSB’s format will follow the three-group, regional regular season and global play-offs. Boxers in the 10 Olympic weight categories can take part in the tournament, which also doubles up as an Olympic qualifiers.

The other two groups in WSB are Europe and America.