British Lionheart Andrew Selby maintains his 100% record (From Barry And District News)

British Lionheart Andrew Selby maintains his 100% record

8:10am Thursday 24th January 2013 in Sport

BARRY boxer Andrew Selby continued his unbeaten run of form for the British Lionhearts, by beating London 2012 bronze medalist Michael Conlan in the World Series of Boxing.

The Lionhearts team maintained their 100 per cent WSB home record with a dominant 5-0 victory over the USA Knockouts at York Hall in London last Thursday (January 17).

Winning performances by Selby, John Joe Nevin, Joe Ward, Joe Joyce and Kaupo Arro secured the victory, to ensure the Lionhearts temporarily moved to second in WSB Group B with 12 points and four wins from six fixtures.

They have since dropped to third in the group, following victory for Astana Arlans Kazakhstan over Ukraine Otamans (4-1), and Italia Thunder over German Eagles (2-3) on Friday (January 18). However they are just one point behind joint table-toppers Kazakhstan and Italia Thunder.

British Lionhearts coach, Dave Alloway, said: "To win all five bouts was an excellent performance by the team.

“The boxers are continuing to adjust well to the different demands of World Series Boxing and it means the team is well placed to get to the knockout stages of the competition."

The outstanding bout of the evening came in the bantamweight category where Barry’s Andrew Selby scored a unanimous victory over London 2012 bronze medallist, Michael Conlan.

It was a re-match of their epic quarter-final in the 2011 AIBA World Championships, when Selby defeated the Irishman by a single point.

The 24-year-old Barry fighter said: "He is a really tough opponent and I knew it would be close like our previous bouts, so it was great to get the win on all three scorecards.

“It means I now have three wins from three in the World Series. I’m really enjoying the competition and settling into the new format."

Selby’s win in the third bout of the evening secured the victory for the Lionhearts. Kauto Arro had given the team the lead in the middleweight contest, and Ireland’s 2012 Olympic silver medallist John Joe Nevin had then secured his first win of the season with a unanimous victory over Beijing bronze medallist Daouda Sow at lightweight.

Nevin’s countryman Joe Ward made it 4-0 with another dominant display at light heavyweight to defeat Marko Calic and record his third win of a season in which he is yet to lose a round on any judge’s scorecard.

Londoner Joe Joyce completed the whitewash in his hometown with another confident performance, as he completely overpowered Avery Gibson of the USA in the heavyweight contest - winning all five rounds on all three of the judges’ scorecards.

Next up for the Lionhearts is an away fixture against Italia Thunder before a top-of-the-table home clash with Group B leaders, Astana Arlans Kazhakstan.

The fixture will again be at York Hall in London on Thursday, February 7, and tickets are available at www.britishlionhearts.com or directly from the venue.