The new outfit retains the Dragons name used by the Beijing Dragons, who competed in Season's I and II of the WSB.

The China Dragons are one of four new franchises added to the line-up for next season's competition.

Teams from Morocco and Venezuela will make their debuts in the competition while a fourth new franchise will be added in due course to bring the number of teams up to 16.

The China Dragons have been drawn in Group A for Season V and they will face a baptism of fire as they get set to take on Team Germany, last season's semi-finalists The Russian Boxing Team, Ukraine Otamans and reigning champions the Cuba Domadores in their first four outings.

They will also face clashes with the Mexico Guerreros, the Algeria Desert Hawks and fellow new-boys from Morocco.

The China Dragons will face clashes with The Russia Boxing Team and reigning champions the Cuba Domadores during their first four outings in Season V ©WSB



Season III champions the Astana Arlans and last season's beaten finalists the Azerbaijan Baku Fires headline Group B where they are joined by the USA Knockouts, Dolce & Gabbana Italia Thunder, the Argentina Condors, the Poland Hussars, the new Venezuelan outfit and the unnamed 16th franchise.

Due to the expansion in the number of franchises taking part, the regular season has been extended from 10 to 14 weeks while changes have been made to the knockout format.

The top team in each group will gain automatic qualification to the semi-finals, while the next highest ranked two teams in each group will take part in two quarter-final matches to determine the remaining semi-finalists.

The quarter-final ties will take place over two consecutive nights at the home of the two second-placed teams from each group.

This same format will be applied to the semi-finals, when the top ranked teams from the regular season who qualified directly to the semi-final stage will host the winners of the quarter-finals at home.

In addition, this season will see 17 boxers qualify directly for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Boxers ranked first and second in categories from flyweight to light heavyweight and the boxer at the top of the rankings at light flyweight, heavyweight and super heavyweight will all secure a direct route to Rio.

Season V of the WSB is scheduled to get underway on January 16 and 17 with the Cuba Domadores hosting the Moroccan franchise and the Mexico Guerreros travelling to Ukraine to take on the Otamans.

The Russian Boxing team will host the Algeria Desert Hawks with the China Dragons making their return to the ring with an away trip to Team Germany.

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