The British Lionhearts had won their previous home fixtures this season against the China Dragons and the Algeria Desert Hawks, so the Mexico Guerreros needed to be at their best in London to achieve victory.

In the opening bout of the night Raul Curiel put the Mexicans lead on the night after overcoming Sam Maxwell in their light-welterweight category fight.

Lionhearts debutant Harvey Horn then faced up to Joselito Velázquez Altamirano in the lightweight division, but the experienced Mexican proved to have too much for the teenager and was awarded a unanimous victory on the three judges' scorecards.

It put the Guerreros on the brink of victory on the night and the British Lionhearts' unbeaten home record was ended after their overseas fighter Jitaru Ionut-Mirel from Romania fell to a unanimous points defeat to the Mexico Guerreros Irish fighter Gary Sweeney in the heavyweight clash.

The Lionhearts reduced the overall arrears after the bantamweight clash between Qais Ashfaq and Brian Gonzalez, with Ashfaq ultimately prevailing on a points verdict by the judges in a closely fought encounter.

Attention then turned to Antony Fowler in the final fight of the night.

Fowler was unbeaten in his previous two fights of the WSB and continued his flawless start with a split decision victory over Misael Rodriguez, which sees him move to third in the season's middleweight rankings, with the top two ranking places at the end of the WSB securing Olympic qualification for Rio 2016. 

The Mexico Guerreros, who beat British Lionhearts in London, will next be in action against the Ukraine Otamans in Group A on March 7 ©WSB



"Olympic qualification is what it's all about for me," Fowler said after his victory, which drew the Lionhearts level on the night.

"I lost a little bit of ground in the rankings because I had to miss the Russia match [two weeks ago] through injury but I am still on track and with that win tonight I ought to go up in the rankings.

"I am unbeaten for the season and I really don't think there is anyone out there better than me, so I just need to keep on winning and hopefully I will qualify for Rio through WSB."

The British Lionhearts are due next to head to China, hoping for an upturn in their away form, when they face China Dragons on March 6, while the Mexico Guerreros are scheduled to host the Ukraine Otamans a day later.

Ukraine Otamans will be fresh of the back of a top of the table clash against the unbeaten Cuba Domadores tomorrow in Kyiv, while the Russian Boxing Team will also host the Morocco Atlas Lions in Group A.

The Azerbaijan Baku Fires head to South America to face the Argentina Condors, seeking a victory over the bottom side in Group B.

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