Vladimir S

Vladimir S. is a Ukraine-born boxing writer now based in the United States, with more than 20 years covering the sport at amateur and professional level across Europe and America. He first built his reputation in Berlin, chronicling the rise of top prospects and European title fights before moving stateside. Over the years he has reported from ringside at world championship bouts in London, Berlin, Hamburg, Las Vegas, and Madison Square Garden.

Felix Sturm vs. Sam Soliman 2 on May 31st in Germany

Felix Sturm vs. Sam Soliman 2 on May 31st in Germany

A rematch between IBF middleweight champion Felix Sturm (39-3-2, 18 KO’s) and #1 IBF Sam Soliman (43-11, 18 KO’s) will be taking place next month on May 31st at the König Palast, Krefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Soliman and Sturm previously fought back in February of last year with Soliman winning a 12 round unanimous decision that was later overturned and changed to a no contest after Soliman tested positive for a banned substance.

Soliman, 40, has fought once since then in beating Les Sherrington by a 9th round TKO last December in Australia. For his part, Sturm has had two easy stoppage wins over Predrag Radosevic and Darren Barker. The fight against Barker might have turned into a tough one for Sturm if not for Barker suffering a hip injury in the 2nd round that it impossible for him to fight.

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Sauerland: Kubrat Pulev will not face Elijah McCall; Replacement Announced

Sauerland: Kubrat Pulev will not face Elijah McCall; Replacement Announced

IBF heavyweight mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev (19-0, 10 KO’s) will be fighting in an 8-round tune-up fight against little known fighter Elijah McCall (12-3-1, 11 KO’s) on the undercard of the WBA light heavyweight title clash between champion Juergen Braehmer and Enzo Maccarinelli. Pulev, at the Stadthalle, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany according to Sauerland Events.

Pulev, 32, is already locked in for a world title shot against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko for later this year, so he just needs to stay active, get a little rust out, and avoid injuries in winning this fight against McCall.

McCall, 26, is the son of former heavyweight champ Oliver McCall. He played college football at James Madison University as a defensive end. He turned pro in 2009 without any amateur experience at all. In looking at some of his past fights, McCall seems to be a very good body puncher, but not much hand speed or power in throwing to the head. McCall looks like he’s a better puncher than Pulev, who is more of a slapper and jabber.

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Abraham defeats Stieglitz

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WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26 KO’s) failed to pace himself tonight in running out of gas in the 2nd part of his rubber match against Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28 KO’s) in losing a 12 round split decision at the GETEC Arena, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Stieglitz unloaded everything but the kitchen sink on Abraham in the first four rounds of action going for broke to get a stoppage. But when Abraham was still there after the 4th round, Stieglitz had no answers in what to do to try and win the fight.

Abraham knocked Stieglitz down in the 12th round. Before the knockdown, Stieglitz had been wobbled from a right hand from Abraham. It looked like for a second there that he might make it out of the round without going down, but Stieglitz took another big shot and that caused him to hit the canvas.

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Abraham and Stieglitz make weight

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WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-3, 26 KO’s) made weight today in coming in at 168 lbs on the dot for his title defense on Saturday against the 34-year-old Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28 KO’s) at the GETEC Arena, Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Abraham, 34, also weighed in at 168 lbs. If Abraham looks as feeble and clueless as he did in losing to Stieglitz last year, then you can count on Abraham getting whipped again.

Abraham let Stieglitz bombard him for three rounds in their 2nd fight until the bout was halted in the 4th. From what I could see, Abraham didn’t look mentally into the fight. Even if the bout had been allowed to continue on, it was clear that he was going to lose. Abraham looked like someone that didn’t want to fight anymore.

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Abraham-Stieglitz battle it out in rubber match this Saturday in Germany

Abraham-Stieglitz battle it out in rubber match this Saturday in Germany

34-year-old former two division world champion Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28 KO’s) will have his career on the line this Saturday night in his rubber match against WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-3, 26 KO’s) at the GETEC Arena, in Magdeburg, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany.

Abraham took a beating the last time he fought Stieglitz last year in March in Germany. Stieglitz didn’t do much to win the fight other than throw massive amounts of punches for three rounds until Abraham couldn’t continue due to a badly swollen eye in the 4th round. No secret: Abraham never learned to counter punch or to try and catch his opponents off guard after they’ve committed to a punch. Stieglitz used a primitive but highly effective attack-oriented style to get the better of him last year. It was like watching Aaron Pryor fight. Stieglitz didn’t take any breather’s from his bombardment of Abraham, and he punished him badly with head shots.

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Huck vs. Arslan II: Will the judges get it right this time?

huck43On January 25th, WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (36-2-1, 25 KO’s) will be facing Firat Arslan (33-6-2, 21 KO’s) in a rematch at the Hanns-Martin Schleyer Halle, in Stuttgart, Germany. Arslan gave Huck a beating less than 2 years ago in losing a 12 round unanimous decision in a fight that most people felt that Arslan had done enough to deserve a victory.

The three judges that scored the fight saw it different, giving Huck the win by the scores of 115-113, 115-113, 117-111. Huck was pummeled the entire fight, and it’s difficult to figure out what the judges saw in him to give him the victory. Huck just looked like a confused and beaten fighter throughout the fight.

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Yoan Pablo Hernandez to fight on March 8th

hernandez34IBF cruiserweight champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14 KO’s) will be back in action on March 8th against an opponent still to be determined in Stuttgart, Germany, according to Fightnews. Hernandez, 29, is coming off of a 10th round knockout win over Alexander Alekseev last month in Bamberg, Germany. Hernandez knocked Alekseev down three times in the fight before the bout was eventually halted in the 3rd.

The fight showed pretty clearly that the 6’4″ southpaw Hernandez needs to start facing better opposition he’s defended his title three times in beating Steve Cunningham, Troy Ross and now Alekseev, but he’s not been in with anyone really good that could challenge him. It would be nice to see Hernandez against his first quality challenger like Ola Afolabi or Rakhim Chakhkiev, as both of them are worlds better than the guys Hernandez has been fighting.

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Abraham decisions De Carolis, but looks terrible

abraham445If there was any question whether Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28 KO’s) is shot and needs to retire it was answered tonight with his awful to watch 12 round unanimous decision win over Giovanni De Carolis (20-5, 10 KO’s) at the EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany. Abraham was unable to cut off the ring and handle the little bit of movement from De Carolis during the action. I didn’t see any improvement in Abraham’s game whatsoever from his defeat to Robert Stieglitz.

Abraham looked like a fighter that could no longer pull the trigger on his punches. It was pretty sad to see. Abraham still had the same turtle defense that Robert Stieglitz tore into earlier this year, and it was unbelievable that he was using it against the light hitting De Carolis.

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Arthur Abraham vs. De Carolis tonight in Germany

Abraham_De_Carolis33-year-old Arthur Abraham (37-4, 28 KO’s) will be taking part tonight against little known fringe contender Giovanni De Carolis (20-4, 10 KO’s) in a scheduled 12 round bout at the EWE-Arena, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany. This is a warm-up bout for Abraham to get him ready for his third fight against WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz in 2014.

The fighters have faced each other twice with each guy winning one fight and losing the other. Now Abraham is ready to put himself in position for yet another Stieglitz bout and he just has to defeat #13 IBF De Carolis. This should be fairly easy for Abraham, but I also thought that he would easily win his last fight against Willbeforce Shihepo last August, and boy was I wrong.

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