A debut victory by super-heavyweight, Solomon Dacres, saw the British Lionhearts overcome the France Fighting Roosters at York Hall on Saturday night to progress into the semi-finals of the World Series of Boxing (WSB).
Dacres’ victory came in a tie-break contest after the match finished 3-2 to the British Lionhearts on the night and 5-5 on aggregate over two legs. He successfully outpointed the Roosters’ Marin Mindoljevic on all three judges’ scorecards to take the match and earn the Lionhearts a semi-final place against Astana Arlans Kazakhstan.
The match was overshadowed by concerns over the wellbeing of France’s Jonathan Nacto, who was taken ill in the ring after his bout with Patrick Mailata of New Zealand who was representing the British Lionhearts.
The French super-heavyweight was treated immediately by Doctors and medical staff in the ring and taken to hospital in an ambulance which was on standby at the venue (in accordance with the safety regulations of the International Boxing Association (AIBA).
A joint statement by GB Boxing and the British Lionhearts said: “Our thoughts, best wishes and hopes for recovery go to Jonathan, his family and friends and all of the French team. We are also offering support to all of the British Lionhearts team, coaches and staff that were involved in the match and may have been affected by these events.”
The results from the fixture are below:
52kg: Will Cawley defeated (Unanimous) Abdelhafid Benaicha
60kg: Calum French defeated (Unanimous) Khalil El Hdri
69kg: Andras Dadasz defeated (Split) Mohamed Ali Ouali
81kg: Alejandro Camacho lost (Unanimous) to Bakary Diabira
91kg+: Patrick Mailata lost (Split) to Jonathan Nacto
Tie-break
91kg+ Solomon Dacres defeated (Unanimous) Marin Mindoljevic
More details on the Lionhearts and WSB are available at http://www.worldseriesboxing.com/ and by following the team on twitter at @Brit_Lionhearts.
