New Delhi, 21 July 2017: Action resumed here today in the Super Boxing League as another weekend of exciting boxing started. In the first match of the weekend, the Maratha Yoddhas kept their 100% record intact with a 12-6 win over the Bahubali Boxers to make it two wins out of two in Group B.
Sandeep Singh, Andy Chuaua, Lalnunfeli, and captain Deepak Tanwar, were all winners in their respective categories for the Maratha Yoddhas to give their team an unassailable 12-0 lead after four bouts. However, the Bahubali Boxers ended the night with two victories as Dushyant Shrivastav and captain Kuldeep Singh won their respective bouts to end the match with the score 12-6 in Maratha Yoddhas’ favour.
In the first fight of the match, Maratha Yoddhas’ Sandeep Singh beat Bahubali Boxers’ Venkat Naik in the Feather Weight category by 3 points as the contest was decided by Unanimous Decision. Yoddhas’ Sandeep Singh started strong as as he dominated Round 1 by pushing Naik into the corner. Singh threw some impressive punches on the Boxers’ man as the latter took the shots but kept coming back for more. However, the third Round saw Naik making a comeback into the fight as he was stronger and sharper. Singh did keep his shape throughout the fight and did not let his opponent get the better of him. Naik tried his best to make a comeback into the fight in Round 4 but it was a little too late for the Boxers’ man as Sandeep Singh was awarded the victory by Unanimous Decision to give the three points to Maratha Yoddhas.
Bahubali Boxers’ Joseph Emmanuel was given the responsibility to cut short the lead in the second fight of the night as he took on Maratha Yoddhas’ Andy Chuaua in the Welter Weight category. However, it was the debutant boxer Andy Chuaua who started Round 1 with some barging blows on Boxers’ Emmanuel as the latter also fell down once due to some powerful combinations thrown at him. Round 2 was a turn-around for Emmanuel as he gained parity in the fight by hitting some impression combinations on Chuaua. Round 3 was an unusual Round as both the boxers tried to keep their guard up, and neither got any impressive punches. It was not upto Boxers’ Emmanuel to win Round 4 in order to win the match, but the southpaw Chuaua kept his composure and attacked Emmanuel to get the victory by Unanimous Decision which saw the Maratha Yoddhas lead 6-0 after two bouts.
The third bout was between the women of the Super Boxing League as Maratha Yoddhas’ Lalnunfeli took on Bahubali Boxers’ Preeti Shah in the Super Fly category. It was a crucial tie in the match as a win for either boxer would determine the importance of the next three bouts. Yoddhas’ Lalnunfeli started Round 1 very strongly as she barged her opponent with some nasty blows. However, as the fight progressed, Boxers’ Preeti Shah pulled up her socks to hit some good blows to her opponent in Round 2. In the third Round, both the boxers tried to get the upper hand, but it was Lalnunfeli who kept the smacks going as she hit some impressive combinations to dominate Shah. It meant that Lalnunfeli was awarded the win by Unanimous Decision to extend her team Maratha Yoddhas’ lead to 9-0.
The fourth fight was an opportunity for Maratha Yoddhas’ skipper Deepak Tanwar to secure the match in his side’s favour as a win for him would make it improbable for the Bahubali Boxers to make a comeback with two bouts to go. Yoddhas’ Tanwar took on Bahubali Boxers’ Sandeep Dhull in the Middle Weight category. In the first Round, both pugilists kept their shape in order to not give-in to their opponents’ initial attacks but Boxers’ Sandeep Dhull did hit some right hand jabs on Deepak Tanwar. The latter would not go down though, as he came back strongly in Round 2 and 3 to put the tie in his favour. Tanwar was boxing without any pressure on his shoulders as his team was already leading in the match. Dhull looked tired after the three Rounds which resulted in him not being able to impress in Round 4 as well. The Maratha Yoddhas’ skipper produced some beautiful combinations in Round 4 also as he won the bout by Unanimous Decision to give his team an unassailable lead of 12-0.
The struggling Bahubali Boxers now needed an unlikely two Knock Out victories in the next two bouts to equalize the scores in the match. The fifth fight of the night was between Maratha Yoddhas’ Vivek Jangra and Bahubali Boxers’ Dushyant Shrivastav in the Super Middle Weight category. It was the latter who started the bout with an impressive attitude as his team needed him to win. Shrivastav kept the pressure on his opponent as he hit him with some barging combinations to take the first three Rounds. Yoddhas’ Jangra did keep his guard up but it was not enough to stop the onslaught by Shrivastav. Round 4 saw Shrivastav keeping up with his jabs and combinations to win the match by Unanimous Decision as he gave the Bahubali Boxers their first points of the night to make the scores 12-3 in Maratha Yoddhas’ favour. The win wasn’t enough for Dushyant Shrivastav’s team, as it meant that the Bahubali Boxers could only get to 9 points even if they won the last bout by Knock Out.
Unlike on other fight nights, the last fight of the night was not the eventual decider as the Maratha Yoddhas had already secured victory. In the Heavy Weight category though, it was Bahubali Boxers’ skipper Kuldeep Singh who took on Maratha Yoddhas’ Sandeep Chhikara. The former started the bout very aggressively through quick and perfect combinations. Chhikara was twice given count outs to continue the fight as he had sustained some barging blows from Singh in Round 1. However, it was Chhikara who made a comeback in Round 2 as he hit some good hooks and body shots on Singh to put the tie level. Round 3 and 4 saw both the boxers going at each other to make it an exciting last bout for the crowd present at the venue. However, it was Singh who always maintained the upper hand and was rightly declared the winner by Unanimous Decision to end the night for the Bahubali Boxers with 6 points.
In tomorrow’s match, the Mumbai Assassins will look to register their first victory in the Super Boxing League as they take on the North East Tigers. The match will also witness the most awaited and exciting match of the SBL when Assassins’ Manjit Kolekar will take on Tigers’ Asha Roka in the Super Fly category. The two pugilists had initially started their career as amateur boxers, but had later on switched to Mixed Martial Arts, where they also competed in the Super Fight League. The two could not face each other in SFL, however, tomorrow will be an opportunity for both the boxers to make the bout one of the fiercest in the Super Boxing League.
