Cuban Wranglers to meet Hussars in Poland

Havana, Nov 19 (IANS) The "Domadores" (Wranglers) of Cuba travel to Poland, where they will meet the local "Hussars", Friday in the city of Krakow, as part of the B group at the IV World Series of Boxing (WSB), the island' s media reported here.

The Cuba team is led by the two-time world champions Julio Cesar la Cruz (81 kg) and Lazaro Alvarez (60), reported Xinhua.

Other athletes include Arisnoidys Despaigne (69), Gerardo Cervantes (52) and Yoandy Toirac (+91), "completing a combination of experience and great promise", the National Information Agency said. 

The "Hussars" presented a list including the Ukrainian Sergio Werwejko 25 (+91), Mateusz Polski (60), Rafal Perczynski (69) and Pawel Stepien (81), together with Grzegorz Kozlowski (52). 

The Wranglers participation at the WSB marks the return of Cuban Boxing to semi-professional competitions, since 1961 when former president Fidel Castro abolished the professional sports. 

Cuba competes in the strongest group of the tournament, against world boxing powers like the defending champion Kazakhstan, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Russia and Poland.