Zhussupov had won just once in season four up to now, with Nametov having won three times, but left the stat book at home as he succeeded by a points victory in what was a fast and entertaining encounter.

The Baku Fires' 2012 WSB individual champion Gairbek Germakhanov brought the tie level in the second bout as he triumphed over home favourite Madi Shulakov at bantamweight.

With such a lot at stake after losing the first contest, Germakhanov showed his power in the middle of the ring as he went blow-for-blow with Shulakov and just managed to level the contest with a split decision victory.

Azerbaijan's number three ranked fighter, Gaybatulla Gadzhialiyev took on the number four ranked Askhat Ualikhanov of Kazakhstan in the light welterweight division.

It was the man from Azerbaijan who managed to give his team the lead here as he won by split decision in what proved a highly cagey affair.

Astana Arlans Kazakhstan Madi Shulakov (right) recorded the only stoppage of the day as he triumphed over Azerbaijan Baku Fires' Soltan Migitinov at middleweight ©WSB



Ukranian middleweight Madi Shulakov, fighting for Kazakhstan, levelled the tie once more as he recorded the only stoppage of the day with an impressive performance against Soltan Migitinov.

The Ukrainian powerhouse showed why he had a 22-1 WSB record going into the contest and utilised his efficient and powerful style to secure a technical knockout late in the third round.

Kazakhstan gained the upper hand in the final bout of the night as heavyweight Vasilii Levit saw off competition from Abdulkadir Abdullayev.

The two had met once before at the beginning of the season, with Levit winning that encounter, and the hard-hitting Kazak proved too strong again as he extended his win streak to six for the 2014 WSB season.

The second leg of this semi-final match-up is set to take place on May 3 at Azerbaijan's Guba Olympic Complex with the winners set to face the Russian Boxing Team or Cuba Domadores in the final. 

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
April 2014: Astana Arlans continue WSB defence with semi-final clash against Azerbaijan Baku Fires
April 2014: Cuba Domadores hold slight advantage after WSB semi-final first-leg win over Russia
April 2014: Defending champions Kazakhstan to face Azerbaijan in World Series of Boxing semi-finals
April 2014: Russia dispatch Ukraine with ease while Cubans blitz US in WSB quarter-finals
April 2014: Salem steps in to stage USA versus Cuba boxing match after Florida postponement