(COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.) – The United States and France boxed to a 5-5 tie on Saturday at the USA vs. France Dual in Abbeville, France in the first competition of their trip overseas. The two squads will now prepare for the Four Nations Tournament in Berck Sur Mer, France, November 26-27.

American boxers John Franklin (Colorado Springs, Colo.), Roman Morales (San Ardo, Calif.), Eric Flores (Ingle, Calif.), Errol Spence (Desoto, Texas) and Jeffrey Spencer (Fort Carson, Colo.) all won their bouts on Saturday over their French foes.

Franklin earned the first U.S. victory of the night, winning a 5-1 decision over fellow flyweight Lucchino Gatti of France. The decision kicked off a three bout winning streak for the American squad with bantamweight Morales taking an 8-1 victory over France’s Nordine Ait Ihya and lightweight Flores defeating Souleymane Cissokho of France by a 7-2 margin.

Welterweight Spence added another win to his list of European victories in 2010 with a 14-5 decision over Nordine Samoudi of France. Light heavyweight Spencer bounced back from his losses in the European Challenge in August with a 9-4 win over France’s Dion.

The France squad claimed five victories on the night as well. Light flyweight Diego Hurtado (Sparks, Nev.) dropped a 13-4 decision to Jeremy Beccu of France while light welterweight Pedro Sosa (New York, N.Y.) lost a 7-4 bout to France’s Chabane Fehim. D’Mitrius Ballard (Temple Hills, Md.) suffered a 13-1 loss to France’s Michel Tavares in their middleweight match-up. Two American heavyweights lost their dual bouts as well with heavyweight Joshua Temple (St. Louis, Mo.) falling to France’s John M’Mumba by a 16-6 margin and super heavyweight Lenroy Thompson (Uniondale, N.Y.) dropping a close 8-6 decision to Marilo of France.

The U.S. squad will travel to Berck Sur Mer today and spend the week training in preparation for the Four Nations Tournament, which will open competition on Friday at the Palais Des Sports. Team USA will face off with top boxers from France, Ukraine and Hungary in the long-standing tournament.

Coaches Joe Zanders (Long Beach, Calif.), Barry Hunter (Fort Washington, Md.) and Ray Paxton (Shreveport, La.),Team Manager Deni Auclair (New Rochelle, N.Y.), AIBA Official Tom Cleary (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Team Physician Dr. Ken Kurt (Racine, Wis.) will all join the boxers for the second leg of their journey in France as well.

USA vs. France Dual Results
106 lbs: Jeremy Beccu, France, dec. Diego Hurtado, Sparks, Nev./USA, 14-5
114 lbs: John Franklin, Colorado Springs, Colo./USA dec. Lucchino Gatti, France, 5-1
123 lbs: Roman Morales, San Ardo, Calif./USA dec. Nordine Ait Ihya, France, 8-1
132 lbs: Eric Flores, Ingle, Calif./USA dec. Souleymane Cissokho, France, 7-2
141 lbs: Chabane Fehim, France dec. Pedro Sosa, New York, N.Y./USA, 7-4
152 lbs: Errol Spence, Desoto, Texas/USA dec. Nordine Samoudi, 14-5
165 lbs: Michel Tavares, France dec. D’Mitrius Ballard, Temple Hills, Md./USA, 13-1
178 lbs: Jeffrey Spencer, Fort Carson, Colo./USA dec. Nicolas Dion, 9-4
201 lbs: John M’Mumba, France dec. Joshua Temple, St. Louis, Mo./USA, 16-6
201+ lbs: Marilo, France dec. Lenroy Thompson, Uniondale, N.Y./USA, 8-6