Cuba Wins fFrst Battle Against US Outside Boxing Ring

Cuban boxing team Domadores (Tamers) Thursday won its first battle against the U.S. Knockouts, as part of the 4th World Series of Boxing (WSB), but the victory came outside the ring.
A fighter from each team was due to get in the ring Friday at Havana's Sports City Coliseum, but the Puerto Rican-born Jantony Ortiz tipped the scales by an extra kilogram and was automatically disqualified from the 52-kilo category bout.
That made Cuba's Gerardo Cervantes the automatic winner of their quarterfinal round.
The rest of the Cuban squad includes two-time world champion Lazaro Alvarez (60km), Olympic champion Roniel Iglesias (69km), Olympic runner-up Emilio Correa (81km) and Yohandi Toirac in the 91km and over category.
Their U.S. counterparts include the Venezuelan-born Luis Arcon and Gabriel Maestre, Brazil's Michel Borges de Sousa and the Swedish Muhamed Sallah.
The U.S. team's Cuban-born head trainer, Mariano Gonzalez, said he was confident of winning two of the upcoming fights.
"I'm very confident in the 81 and over-91 kilo categories, with Borges de Souza and Sallah," he said.
Rolando Acebal, head trainer of the Domadores, said his fighters were in peak condition and hungry to advance to the semifinal round of the WSB.
"Our athletes have gained experience and they are going to fight with the conviction that their preparation has given them," he said.
During the qualification round, Cuba won nine of its 10 bouts, losing only once to Russia, to lead Group B with 28 points, while the U.S. has accumulated only 11 points to place fourth in Group A.
The winner will go on to fight in the semifinals against either Russia or Ukraine, with the Russians holding a 4-1 advantage.