World Series of Boxing's defending champions Astana made a winning start to their defence against India Tigers ©WSB

Astana Arlans Kazakhstan made a successful start to the defence of their World Series of Boxing (WSB) crown today with a 4-1 win in their home Asian Group clash against tournament new boys India Tigers.

Arlans won the 2017 edition with a 6-5 victory in the final over Cuba Domadores, and are now hoping to make it four titles in all.

The competition against India did not take place in Astana, however, but at the Boxing Centre Sapiyev in Karaganda, Kazakhstan's fourth largest city. 

Kavinder Singh Bisht was the Tigers’ only winner on the night, defeating Akniet Baltabayev by two rounds to one in the 52 kilogram category.

Astana Arlans Kazakhstan were in dominant form as they begun their defence of the World Series of Boxing title ©WSB
Astana Arlans Kazakhstan were in dominant form as they begun their defence of the World Series of Boxing title ©WSB

Serik Temirzhanov earned a 3-0 win over Tigers' Ankush Dahiy at 60kg, with Bekbolat Kuramyssov the home representative at 69kg, getting a 2-1 decision against Duryodhan Negi.

Nurdaulet Zharmanov took a 2-1 decision over Brijesh Yadav in the 81kg category, and the night was rounded off by another home win in the 91kg super-heavyweight class by Nursultan Amanzholov over Parveen Kumar.

Elsewhere, Cuba Domadores followed up their week one victory over Colombia in the Americas Group by beating the Uzbek Tigers 5-0 on home soil in Havana.

The top two teams from all three regional groups will reach the play-offs, alongside the two strongest third-place teams.