Olympians headline strong British Lionhearts squad for home bout
BySportsbeat
Published 16/03/2017 at 17:03 GMT
Rio 2016 Olympians Pat McCormack and Muhammad Ali will headline a strong British Lionhearts team to face Italia Thunder in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) in London next week.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Light welterweight McCormack and flyweight Ali, who were both knocked out at the last 16 stage of their respective weight divisions in Rio, lead a team of five into the ring at the capital's York Hall on Thursday 23 March.
They will be joined by WSB debutant Calum French as well as super heavyweight Frazer Clarke, the latter of whom will be looking to continue his unbeaten record in the competition.
Bulgaria's Radoslav Pantaleev, the Lionhearts' overseas selection, completes the formidable line-up, as the team looks to cement their place atop the Group B standings.
The Lionhearts have suffered just one defeat in 2017 so far, coming in their last tie with Italia Thunder in the season's opening fixture in Rome when they fell to a 3-2 loss.
Since then, however, the Lionhearts have gone on to demolish the Morocco Atlas Lions 5-0 before edging out the France Fighting Roosters in Paris.
Clarke, McCormack and Pantaleev are so far unbeaten in the WSB, while Ali won his last bout in France, and while revenge may be on the agenda when they take on the Italians next week, Ali can't wait to take to the ring on home soil.
"Being part of the GB Boxing squad, I don't get the chance to box in England very much so it will be good to be back at home for a change and boxing in front of my home fans," said Ali.
"It's great having my family in the crowd as they cheer me on and bring out the best in me when I'm in the ring."
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