Astana Arlans Kazakhstan advanced to the WSB Finals following their 3-2 triumph in London

Two-time WSB Team Champion Astana Arlans Kazakhstan defeated the Season VI Finalist British Lionhearts 4-1 in the first leg of their Semi-finals in Kostanay and the Kazakh franchise was able to beat their European rivals 3-2 in their second match in the London York Hall. Astana Arlans Kazakhstan won their encounter 7-3 on aggregate and advanced to the WSB Finals of Season VII. Their final opponent could be Colombia Heroicos or Cuba Domadores which depends on the result of their second leg.

British Lionhearts vs. Astana Arlans Kazakhstan 2-3 (Aggregate 3-7)
Two-time WSB Team Champion Astana Arlans Kazakhstan delivered perfect performance against the Russian franchise in the first phase of the Play-off in the Quarter-final. Astana Arlans Kazakhstan was able to beat the tough British Lionhearts 3-2 in their second leg of the Semi-finals in London. The British squad eliminated Astana Arlans Kazakhstan in Season VI therefore the Kazakh franchise did real revenge in Season VII.
ASBC Asian Champion and Rio 2016 Olympian Olzhas Sattibayev was amazing in the whole Season VII and his strong performance was enough to beat British Lionhearts’ 19-year-old debutant Niall Farrell in the first bout of the second leg in London. Astana Arlans Kazakhstan’s Zakir Safiullin used patient style in the recent years but in the current WSB Season VII he attacked more and dominated his next fight against British Lionhearts’ New Zealand boxer, Chad Milnes.
Safiullin’s triumph meant Astana Arlans Kazakhstan led 6-1 after seven contests and secured its guaranteed place in the WSB Final. Following that key contest Aslanbek Shymbergenov was still also motivated in his own contest at the welterweight (69kg) and used his longer hands to keep the distance against another Asian boxer, India’s two-time Olympian Manoj Kumar therefore Astana Arlans Kazakhstan led by 7-1 following the eighth bout.
Astana Arlans Kazakhstan’s two-time National Champion Arman Rysbek arrived to London with 5-0 record but British Lionhearts’ tall Thomas Whittaker-Hart was able to beat him in a spectacular and close light heavyweight (81kg) bout. The second New Zealand boxer of the night was Patrick Mailata who was too strong for Astana Arlans Kazakhstan’s FISU University World Champion WSB debutant Nursultan Amanzholov therefore the final result was 7-3 on aggregate to the Kazakh franchise.

Final Results in London:
British Lionhearts vs. Astana Arlans Kazakhstan 2-3
52kg: Niall Farrell ENG – Olzhas Sattibayev KAZ 1-2
60kg: Chad Milnes NZL – Zakir Safiullin KAZ – The British Lionhearts’ boxer abandoned the fight in the 3rd round
69kg: Manoj Kumar IND – Aslanbek Shymbergenov KAZ 0-3
81kg: Thomas Whittaker-Hart ENG – Arman Rysbek KAZ 2-1
+91kg: Patrick Mailata NZL – Nursultan Amanzholov KAZ – The Kazakh boxer abandoned the fight in the 3rd round