Mumbai Fighters to make WSB debut against Milano Thunder

Pune: India`s lone franchise Mumbai Fighters are to lock horns with Italian franchise Milano Thunder in their maiden World Series Boxing clash at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex at Balewadi.

The best-of-five contest would see India`s 2002 World Cadet champion Balbir Singh, three-time national champion Diwakar Prasad, two-time national champion Jasveer Singh and last year`s National Games runner up Krishan Kumar in action, along with 2010 Commonwealth Games champion Patrick Gallagher of Ireland. Balbir would take on Vitaliy Volkov of Ukraine, who has a 3-2 record in WSB and is ranked no 11 in the bantamweight category, while Diwakar would be up against Argentina`s South American Games bronze medallist Juan Javier Herrera in the lightweight class. In the middleweight bout, Gallagher faces Sergiy Derevyanchenko (Ukraine), a world championship bronze medallist, while Latvian Nikolajs Grisunins would square off against Jasveer in the light heavy bout. In the heavyweight showdown, India`s Krishan Kumar has a tough task against Italian Clemente Russo, 2007 World Champion and 2008 Olympic silver medallist. International Boxing Association (AIBA) president, Ching-Kuo Wu, said that it was a historic moment for the Indian franchise. "As chairman of the WSB Board, it is my great pleasure to be able to attend this very first WSB match in India. It is a historical moment for the Mumbai Fighters and I am delighted to be able to witness it in person," he said after the weigh-in at Balewadi. The contest commences at 7 30 pm. PTI