Mumbai Fighters to field only foreigners in last home fight

Mumbai: After a series of poor results that have hurt their quarterfinal qualifying hopes, Venky`s Mumbai Fighters have decided to field an all-foreign team of pugilists in their last home group tie against cellar outfit Bangkok Elephants in the World Series Boxing clash.

The Fighters will enter the ring with boxers from Kyrgyzstan, Philippines, Israel, Belarus and New Zealand in categories from bantamweight to heavyweight. This being the home outfit`s last chance to enter the last eight stage from Group A, the Indian franchise has decided to leave out all the Indian boxers for tomorrow`s clash against the sixth-placed Bangkok team. The match against the Thai franchise would be an ideal opportunity for the Fighters to earn the much required points and keep their hopes of entering the play-offs alive. The top four teams from the group will enter the quarterfinals. Currently, Los Angeles Matadors with 10 points are occupying the number four spot, while at number two and three are Astana Arlans and Dynamo Moscow, respectively with 16 points each. At No. 1 in the group are Milano Thunder with 18 points. The Fighters would be looking to topple the Matadors from number four position. After tomorrow`s match against the Elephants, the Fighters will play two more matches -- against the Matadors on February 13 and Arlans on February 17. PTI