World Series of Boxing (WSB) Season IV Champions Cuba Domadores earned an entertaining 5-0 victory over Mexico Guerreros in the second leg of their semi-final, and reached the WSB Final 10-0 on aggregate.
After their first leg whitewash triumph, Cuba began tonight’s action having already qualified for the Final as Mexico was unable to produce a boxer in the Light heavyweight (81 kg) division.
Ecuador’s Carlos Mina could not weigh-in for his proposed match with Cuba’s Julio Cesar La Cruz due to illness, so their contest was declared a walkover win for La Cruz which gave Cuba an unassailable 6-0 lead before a glove had been thrown in Havana.
Frank Osvaldo Zaldívar Santisteban displayed the strength of the Cuban team as he began the evening by winning his WSB debut against 4-4 Mexican Flyweight (52 kg) Orlando Huitzil Ahuatl.
Santisteban is a very exciting prospect, and impressed throughout his contest with the experienced Ahuatl.
Both Flyweights continually pressed forward, but it was the Cuban athlete who controlled the important elements of the bout, and eventually won 49-46 according to one judge, and 48-47 on the remaining scorecards.
Two-time AIBA World Champion Lazaro Alvarez earned Cuba’s third win of the evening, and took his Season V record to 8-0 in the process with a dominant performance over 5-2 Lindolfo Delgado.
Alvarez is one of the smoothest in-ring technicians of WSB, and his excellent versatility confounded Delgado in every round.
The penultimate match of this semi-final was a Welterweight (69 kg) rematch between Cuba’s Olympic and AIBA World Championships gold medalist Roniel Iglesias Sotolongo and Héctor Andrés Reyes Anguiano, where once again this season the Cuban star defeated his Mexican rival.
Sotolongo had struggled to truly impress in this campaign despite his many accolades, but he improved immensely in Havana to show exactly why he is regarded as one of the best boxers in the world.
Hard right hands and stiff jabs forced Anguiano backwards despite his attacking instincts, and the Mexican fighter was forced to take a standing count in the fifth round after being hit by a left hook.
All three judges awarded every round to Sotolongo who looks back to his brilliant best.
7-1 Super heavyweight (91+ kg) Domadore Lenier Eunice Pero closed the semi-final in style for Cuba as he stopped former Pan American Games bronze medalist Jorge Quiñonez in round one of their contest.
Pero dropped Quiñonez with a left hook to the body less than a minute into the frame, and a follow-up shot to the midsection forced the end of the match shortly after.
Cuba now has a 73-7 record this season, and look virtually unbeatable heading into the WSB Final.