(LOS ANGELES) With an easy 4-1 victory over the Miami Gallos Thursday night, the Los Angeles Matadors proved they are indeed the real deal in the inaugural season of the World Series of Boxing (WSB) and the only thing that might stand in their way the last half of the season might just be themselves.

With 1984 Olympian Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield sitting ringside at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, the Matadors once again dominated the competition, with the team's lone blemish coming by way of walkover when they were unable to field a boxer at light heavyweight due to injury.

"The Matadors are my home team," exclaimed Holyfield. "I love these guys and they fight with a lot of heart."

So it has been for the Matadors through the first six weeks of the season having run up 23 wins to only seven defeats on the year.  Three of the seven losses have come when the Matadors, due to injury or medical suspensions, have been unable to field a boxer at a certain weight class, something that's happened in each of the last three matches.  Despite that, the Matadors have earned 4-1 victories in each of those contests.

Commenting on the action he saw as the league's two best teams dueled, Holyfield said:  "These guys fight a lot faster than the pros. Most U.S. fighters fight a slower style when they fight internationally so they get beat. Now that the U.S. has the World Series of Boxing, I'm sure we'll win a lot of medals because this is giving us an opportunity to fight international opponents."

The first bout of the evening saw the first WSB Americas rematch of the season as Fernando Martinez (Buenos Aires, Argentina) of the LA Matadors and Jose Luis Meza Ochoa (Zamora, Ecuador) met for the second time.   Once again, it was Martinez picking up the unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47) to move to 3-0 on the season and improving upon his current No. 6 WSB ranking.  Ochoa now drops to 1-2 on the year.

At lightweight/134 pounds, Jose Saenz (Kansas City, Mo.) of the Matadors made his WSB debut a success with a split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47) over Adrian Martinez (Milwaukee, Wis.) of the Gallos.  Martinez drops to 2-0 on the year.

Russell Lamour (Portland, Ore.) provided a rude welcoming to WSB newcomer John Joe Joyce (Kildare, Ireland) in the middleweight division.  Joyce arrived in the States earlier this week and was given a matchup with one of the WSB's hottest boxers as Lamour dominated Joyce throughout and improved to 3-0 on the year assuring that Lamour will climb the standings up from his No. 5 WSB ranking. The final score was 50-45, 50-45, 49-46.

"Getting to 3-0 feels good," said Lamour after the fight.  "Each win makes me feel closer to getting to the Olympics.  That's the goal and we're going to get there."

Heavyweight Javier Torres (Pico Rivera, Calif.) of the Matadors rebounded from a disappointing last fight to capture the win over Craig Lewis (Detroit, Mich.) of the Gallos.  Known for his brawling, relentless style in the ring, Torres tried a new strategy tonight as the young, promising heavyweight continues to grow.

"I used to just go for broke and try to bulldoze guys," Torres said. "But I wanted to fight a little different tonight and show that I could box and punch.  I stuck to the gameplan and it worked.  He was a lot slower than me so I just did what I had to do to get the win. I used my patience and my distance. I was a lot smarter in this fight and my corner was a big help."

The LA Matadors (5-1) sit atop the entire WSB at the end of the night with 16 points, while the Baku Fires (5-0), with 15 points, must keep pace in their upcoming match with the Beijing Dragons Saturday in Baku.  Each league winner as well as one second-place team advance to the playoffs of the World Series of Boxing which will take place at the conclusion of the regular season that ends March 18.   The Miami Gallos meanwhile drop to 3-3 on the season with nine league points overall.  The team has won 13 bouts to 17 losses.

The two teams won't have to wait long for a rematch with both squads set to face each other next time out, but this time in Miami on January 27 where the Gallos have yet to lose in three matches.

Week six also features the Mexico City Guerreros (2-3) traveling to Memphis, Tenn., to take on the Memphis Force (1-4).  The Force are looking to erase a three-match losing streak having not won since Nov. 26 while the Guerreros will look to rebound from the 4-1 loss they suffered last week at home.  Those two will duel on Saturday, January 15 and a more in-depth preview will be released Friday for that event.

Miami Gallos vs. Los Angeles Matadors - January 13, 2011 EVENT RESULTS

Bantamweight/119 pounds/54 kg: Fernando Martinez (LA Matadors) UD Jose Luis Meza Ochoa (Miami Gallos), 48-47, 48-47, 48-47

Lightweight/134 pounds/61 kg: Jose Saenz (LA Matadors) SD Adrian Martinez (Miami Gallos), 48-47, 47-48, 48-47

Middleweight/ 161 pounds/73 kg: Russell Lamour (LA Matadors) UD John Joe Joyce (Miami Gallos), 50-45, 50-45, 49-46

Heavyweight/201+ pounds/91+kg:  Javier Torres (LA Matadors) UD Craig Lewis (Miami Gallos), 50-45, 48-47, 49-46