The Lionhearts squad at the Gateshead Leisure Centre includes three-time European Amateur Championships gold medallist Joe Ward, Rio 2016 Olympian Pat McCormack and Calum French, who was recently selected by England for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games boxing squad.

They will be looking to take advantage of any tournament inexperience the Croatian Knights might display.

Croatia will be looking to recover themselves having lost 3-2 to Italia Thunder in Florence during week one.

Thunder and the Fighting Roosters, who won the first-ever WSB title, will face off in Rome with the 52-kilogram fight between Beijing 2008 bronze medallist Vincenzo Picardi from host country Italy and Gabriel Escobar, a Spaniard fighting on the French team, the headline event.

In the Americas division, Caciques de Venezuela and Colombia Heroicos will take to the ring for the first time this season and both will be looking to get their campaigns off to a good start at the Domo José María in Vargas, Venezuela.

The 69kg fight between home athlete Gabriel Maestre, a 2015 Pan American Games gold medallist, and Jhan Carlos Ubarnes, is likely to be the highlight in that tie.

The WSB season sees 12 teams compete in three regional groups - America, Europe and Asia - in home and away best-of-five matches.

Following the conclusion of the group stage matches, the top two teams from each group and the two strongest third-place teams will qualify for the quarter-finals.

Astana Arlans of Kazakhstan, who compete in the Asian group, are the defending WSB champions.