Arthur Abraham (46-6, 30 KOs) and Patrick Nielsen (29-2, 14 KOs) both made weight today ahead of their crunch super middleweight clash for the WBO International title tomorrow night at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany.
(Photo Credit: Sebastian Heger)
The former two-weight World Champion and his Danish stable-mate are both looking to revive their World title ambitions. The winner will be positioned for a World title eliminator, while the loser will be forced to reassess their career.
WBO International Super Middleweight Championship:
Arthur Abraham: 76.2 kg
Patrick Nielsen: 76.2 kg*
* Nielsen makes weight on second attempt
An action-packed undercard at the Baden Arena features German light heavyweight prospect Leon Bunn, professional debutant and hotly tipped amateur talent Abass Baraou, Dutch crossover star Nieky Holzken and Norwegian cruiserweight Kai Robin Havnaa.
Light Heavyweight – 8 Rounds:
Leon Bunn: 80.5 kg
Tomas Adamek: 80.5 kg
Super Middleweight – 8 Rounds:
Nieky Holzken: 76.8 kg
Bernard Donfack: 77.7 kg
Super Welterweight – 6 Rounds:
Abass Baraou: 69.5 kg
Artur Mueller: 67.6 kg
Cruiserweight – 8 Rounds:
Kai Robin Havnaa: 90.0 kg
Frank Bluemle: 91.0 kg
Super Lightweight – 6 Rounds:
Andranik Hakobyan: 67.6 kg
Zoltan Szabo: 64.2 kg
Super Middleweight – 6 Rounds:
James Kraft: 76.2 kg
Marco Miano: 73.5 kg
Super Featherweight – 4 Rounds:
Alshawa Abdulwahab: 57.8 kg
Rolan Petrovics: 59.8 kg
Click here to watch Abraham vs Nielsen Live Stream (Germany Only)
All the action will be available to watch live on Sport1 in Germany, TV3+ in Denmark and Viasport + in Norway. Limited tickets are still available online via www.eventime.de.
WBF Championship Victories For Ali Yammouni & William Zepeda
On Friday night, April 27, in French port-city Calais, Ali Yammouni excited his home-town fans with a thrilling victory over Georgian late substitute Jaba Shalutashvili to win the vacant World Boxing Federation (WBF) International Middleweight title.
It could only be described as an all-out brawl between two boxers with little defense, as they took turns wobbling each-other in almost every round. With very few jabs or faints, it was power-punches galore from start to finish.
Yammouni, who got the better of most exchanges, floored Shalutashvili in the second round with a short right uppercut, but the Georgian beat the count of referee Mohamed Hireche and gamely fought back. It was the only knock-down of the fight, and it went all ten rounds and to the scorecards.
Judges Christophe Hembert and Jens Uwe Baum both scored it 97-92, while Edward Marshall had it 99-90, all for 36-year-old Yammouni who improved his professional record to 11-6 (3). Shalutashvili (29) drops to 25-21-1 (13).
On the same night, WBF Mexican Lightweight Champion William Zepeda made a successful first defense of his title in Culiacan, fending off the challenge of Pedro Solis Rodrigues on a show promoted by Straight Jab Promotions and Jaime Picos.
Zepeda was on the front foot from round one, and relentlessly pressured his foe with effective punches to both body and head. It was all over in round five, when the referee had seen enough and stopped a completely overwhelmed Rodriguez, still on his feet but trapped in a corner.
Only twenty-one years old, “Camaron” Zepeda is quickly making a name for himself with his all-action style, as he impressively took his ledger to 14-0 (12). Pedro “Latigo” Solis Rodriguez (25), game but out-gunned, is now 9-4 (5).