John Joe Nevin and Joe Ward will be in action when the Lionhearts meet Italia Thunder on Friday night.
London 2012 silver medallist John Joe Nevin and current European champion Joe Ward will make their eagerly anticipated World Series of Boxing (WSB) debuts for the British Lionhearts in Wales on Friday night.
The Lionhearts host defending WSB champions Italia Thunder in a top of the table Group B clash at the Celtic Manor in Cardiff.
Nevin is in against Serbia’s Branimir Stankovic and Ward faces Hungary’s Imre Szello in the five-bout match.
Nevin beat Stankovic on a split decision when he was boxing for Paris United in the WSB last season, while the Ward/Szello duel is a repeat of the 2011 European Elite semi-final which Ward won (18-8) en route to gold in Ankara, Turkey.
Ward looked poised to sign for the Italians (then called Milano Thunder) two years ago, but his WSB debut was put on ice because the then 17-year-old European champion was one-year shy of the minimum age requirement.
However, the Moate BC southpaw has now been given the green light and is all set to go.
“I’m looking forward to this one, can’t wait to get in the ring. I think we have a really strong side in the World Series and we’ll be aiming to win it out in our first season,” said the 2009 and 2010 AIBA World Junior and Youth champion.
For ticket information visit http://britishlionhearts.com/tickets or http://www.celtic-manor.com/British-Lionhearts-Boxing.aspx
