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Today in Norway, WBA, WBC & WBO Female Welterweight Champion Cecilia Braekhus kicked off fight week with a crowded press conference at the Viasat offices in Oslo. The pound-for-pound number one faces Myriam Lamare on Saturday night at the Nordic Fight Night in Frederikshavn.

”I’m really looking forward to this fight,” said Braekhus. ”I haven’t been in the ring for a while so I’m excited to be back and facing such a quality opponent. It will be a great way to start the year!     ”Since my last fight I have been working with a new trainer Otto Ramin. Although I was sad to leave my old team, it has been good to be able to train with someone who is able to focus on me full time.

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”I am expecting a very tough fight. Lamare is fit and hungry. She has said that she has been studying all of my fights, and I hear she is arriving early and bringing her own chef, so she is definitely coming to Frederikshavn to win.   ”I feel good! My training has gone very well. I am in a new and exciting position with a new team around me. I am looking forward to a great fight against a tough opponent.”

cecilia braekhus (6)Braekhus was joined on the podium by her new coach Otto Ramin and promoter Nisse Sauerland.

Said Ramin: ”It has been fun to work with Cecilia. She loves boxing, she is extremely professional and she is dedicated to learning new things and getting better. She is a three-time world champion for a reason, she is the best in the world but I believe she can still improve. We’ve been focusing on her strengths – her great technical and tactical skills – and we’re keen to make her even better.”

Said Sauerland: ”Lamare is possibly the toughest opponent out there for Cecilia at the moment. She is an experienced fighter and a proven champion. There is no doubt that she is taking this fight seriously. She will be staying in a separate flat away from the city to avoid distractions and is even bringing her own chef. This will be an interesting test for the ‘First Lady’.”

Braekhus vs. Lamare tops an action packed Nordic Fight Night bill at the Arena Nord in Frederikshavn. The show will be broadcast live on Viasat 4 from 19.30-00.30. Tickets are available via arenanord.dk.

http://www.boxingscene.com/photos-cecilia-braekhus-press-conference-oslo–74077

 

Oxandia Castillo, Cecilia Braekhus

By:  Sauerland Promotion –

In the Norwegian main event of the evening, WBA, WBO & WBC Female Welterweight Champion Cecilia Braekhus (23-0, 7 KOs) confirmed her pound-for-pound number one rating with an impressive ninth-round TKO victory over previously unbeaten Oxandia Castillo (12-1, 9 KO). The WBO Female Light Middleweight Champion started out aggressively, but Braekhus took control early, cleverly outboxing her 18-year-old opponent. Soon she stamped her authority on the battle and picked Castillo apart with one-two punches – much to the delight of the many Norwegian fans in attendance. In the ninth, the referee eventually stepped in to save Castillo from further punishment.

“She should not have taken my belts after the press conference,” Braekhus said. “They are mine and mine alone. But let me add one thing: Oxandia is extremely talented and I am sure that she will be the pound-for-pound number one in a few years when I am retired. It was an extremely tough fight, she was very good, but I am happy I defeated her.”

Ceciliea33834092Said Castillo: “I want to congratulate Cecilia, she is the best in the world and she deserved to win tonight.”

Said Sauerland: “Cecilia is the pound-for-pound number one and she once again proved that tonight.”

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2013/nielsen-dominates-majewski-p4p1-braekhus-stops-castillo/

A deal has been finalized for Arthur Abraham (34-3, 27KOs) to challenge WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (42-2, 23KOs) on August 25 at O2 World in Berlin, Germany. The two boxers met face to face at press conference to announce the fight. An army of reporters and photographers turned out to catch the action.

“I’m happy that this fight will take place at o2 World. I was hoping for another chance to show my skills in this incredible arena in front of as many fans as possible. I am looking forward to entertain them again, like I did back in 2009 with my last round knockout against Jermain Taylor,” said Arthur Abraham.

Robert Stieglitz is not fazed at all with the outlook of fighting in Abraham’s backyard: “That’s my belt and we are going to battle for it – in the end it will still be mine. I will prove that my championship is legitimate, no matter of the opposition, time or place.”

Ticket sales for Robert Stieglitz vs. Arthur Abraham are going to start this Friday, June 8. Tickets can be purchased at www.eventim.de or www.o2world-berlin.de. Alternatively, ticket information can be obtained at www.boxing-online.com or www.sesboxing.de.

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WBO Jr. Heavyweight Champion Marco Huck (34-2, 25 KOs) will make his mandatory defence against interim champion Ola Afolabi (19-2-3, 9 KOs) in Erfurt, Germany on May 5. It will be the second time the two fighters face each other in the ring, with Huck clinching a close points victory in their first meeting in December 2009. “I had just won the title against Victor Emilio Ramirez and then had to make my first defence against Afolabi,” Huck said. It was a tough fight and I won on points. Afolabi has been victorious in all of his fights ever since. He seems to have gotten stronger. I will be prepared for a hard night on May 5.”

After challenging WBA Heavyweight Champion Alexander Povetkin in February, Huck will have to lose weight again. “He weighed around 95 kilos prior to the Povetkin fight,” coach Ulli Wegner said. “Now he has to lose five kilos. That is something new for him. He has a lot of muscles, so it won´t be easy. But we will get it done during the hard preparation.”

Team Sauerland General Manager Chris Meyer is happy to bring the fight to Germany. “We look forward to fighting in Erfurt again,” he said. “Huck has great memories of the city. In August 2010, he stopped Matt Godfrey at the Messehalle. After long negotiations with K2´s Tom Loeffler, who represents Afolabi, all important matters have been agreed on. Now the contracts are ready to be signed.”

 

Author: SAUERLAND EVENT

http://boxeomundial.net/boxeo.php?category=english&id=28124

As we previously reported, Piotr Wilczewski (30-2, 10 KOs) will be the opponent for WBO Europe Super Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (33-3, 27 KOs) on the 31st of March in Kiel. Abraham’s trainer Ulli Wegner, has a lot of respect for the Polish boxer and expects a much tougher challenge than the one presented by Abraham’s opponent in January, Pablo Farias.

“Wilczewski is a very versatile fighter. He was a good amateur, and last year he won the championship belt of Europe while fighting in rough terrain in Finland. He is a much more demanding fighter than Farias. I am confident that fans in Kiel will see an interesting fight,” said Wegner.

For his part, Arthur Abraham said – “We have already started preparations for the fight in Kiel. First I have to overcome Wilczewski, and then I’ll get a world title fight.”

 

By Luke Furman

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=49884

 

If you were one of the many boxing fans that were hoping to see American talents WBA/WBC super middleweight champion Andre Ward or Andre Dirrell get the first crack at the April 14th winner of the Mikkel Kessler (44-2, 33 KO’s) vs. Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23 KO’s), you can pretty much forget all about that happening because it’s not going to go down.

WBO Europe Super Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (33-3, 27 KO’s) was recently installed as the number #2 contender by the World Boxing Organization and he’s already talking about getting a shot at the winner of the Kessler-Stieglitz fight.

Both Kessler and Abraham fight for Sauerland Promotions, which kind of makes it academic that the fight will be happening next. Will be surprised if Kessler faces Abraham rather than Dirrell or Ward? Nope! I never was crazy enough to think that Kessler would fight either of them in the first place because he already got spanked by Ward once in November 2009 in the Super Six tournament and he’s been making excuses ever since.

And facing Dirrell is like the same as Kessler fighting Ward. Both of them are almost carbon copy talents, only Dirrell brings a little more hand and foot speed and defensive skills to the table.

Kessler will play it safe by fighting the short 5’9” Abraham to get an easy win rather than risking his hide fighting the likes of Ward or Dirrell and losing the WBO belt in his first title defense.

However, I have strong doubts that Kessler will even get by Stieglitz because that’s going to be a very tough fight for him and he’s already badly faded from what he was in 2007. Stieglitz has gotten Kessler at the right point in his career when Stieglitz is at his best and Kessler is on the downside of his career. All Stieglitz has to do is outwork Kessler and he’ll get the ‘W’ in this fight.

 

By Scott Gilfoid:

http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/02/abraham-will-likely-face-kessler-stieglitz-winner/

 

There aren´t many big female fights regardless of weight division but come March, in Denmark, Sauerland´s First Lady, Cecilia Braekhus (19-0, 5KOs), WBO, WBA and WBC female welterweight champion, will take on Ann Sophie Mathis (26-1, 22KOs) from France. The fight is a done deal at both ends with date to be announced. Mathis comes in fresh from  a stoppage win over Holly Holm – and a rematch with Holm might come in June providing of course that Ann Sophie beats Braekhus.

 

By Per Ake Persson

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=48800

Former middleweight world champion Arthur Abraham (33-3, 26 KOs) stopped Pablo Farias (19-2, 11 KOs) in the fifth round to capture the WBO’s European super middleweight title at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany. In the fifth round, Abraham dropped Farias three times before the referee waved it off.

WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23 KOs) had a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Henry Weber (15-1-1, 3 KOs). The scores were 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109. Stieglitz will now face former champion Mikkel Kessler on April 14 in Copenhagen, Denmark.

 

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=48547

Former world middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (33-3, 27KOs) returned last Saturday in Germany and stopped Argentine boxer Pablo Farias in five rounds. Abraham, who planned on going back to middleweight, will remain in the super middleweight division.

Abraham won the WBO’s European super middleweight title last Saturday and wants to fight the winner of April’s fight between WBO champion Robert Stieglitz and Mikkel Kessler. There rumors that Kessler may opt to chase a rematch with WBC/WBA champion Andre Ward.

A return date of March 31 is possible, says Abraham.

“I would like to do better, but this requires more work and further training. The mistakes that I made [against Farias], we are going to analyze and continue training so they are not repeated.

“It is quite possible [that I can face Stieglitz]. I think that our promoter [Sauerland Event] would organize this fight. Stiglitz also wants this fight, and so do I, of course. Such a fight would be a great event for Germany. So I hope that he could it could take place at the end of the year.[But] I would like to fight with the champ, so this would have to be in case he wins [against Kessler].

If Kessler wins, Abraham says a fight with his stablemate “is quite possible.”

 

By Yuri Tarantino, allboxing.ru

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=48664

On February 25 in Stuttgart, WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck wants to become the first German world heavyweight champion since the great Max Schmeling when he takes on WBA regular champion Alexander Povetkin of Russia. “I’m very happy about the chance to fight the heavyweight world championship,” says Huck. “That to me is like winning the lottery. I really want to be the heir to Schmeling. But actually I see Povetkin only as a stopover on the way to the Klitschko brothers….I don’t understand why Povetkin has never taken the chance to climb into the ring against Wladimir. I think he’s afraid of the Klitschko brothers. I’m not.”

“I want to beat Povetkin, then compete against the two brothers. I know that Vitali and Wladimir are strong, and I respect their achievements. But I’m sure I can beat both of them. And anyway, what is it bigger than competing with the best? Why would someone enter the boxing ring if he doesn’t want to make the best possible fight? I can’t understand that.”

Huck is preparing in Berlin for his first fight as a heavyweight. “I’ve already gained the necessary pounds, I feel very comfortable with the higher weight. My energy levels have improved. I have more power than most heavyweights. At the same time I’m fast and physically in top condition. I’ll be training in the coming weeks as hard as ever. This is my big chance and I’m going to use it!”
 

 

 

 

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/huck-povetkin-is-scared-of-the-klitschkos-im-not-105916

WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (34-1, 25KOs) is expecting a score to be settled on February 25th in Stuttgart, Germany, when he moves up to heavyweight to challenge WBA “regular” champion Alexander Povektin (23-0, 16KOs). Some of Huck’s critics are wondering if the boxer should have cleared up the cruiserweight ranks, like David Haye and Evander Holyfield, before a move to heavyweight was finalized. Huck disagrees. He feels there is some bad blood from a past sparring session and the opportunity was too good to pass up.

“Holyfield and David Haye had to take a few fights at heavyweight before going for the championship. With me, I have an immediate opportunity to fight for the heavyweight belt. And I’d be a fool, to give up this opportunity. I want to fight Povetkin right now. After all, he said that we still have old score to settle. Apparently he’s thinking about our sparring session from a long time ago,” Huck said. “When I sparred with Povetkin, I weighed 196-pounds. And that was enough. Now I weigh 213-pounds.”

 

By Ruslan Chikov & Alexander Pavlov

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