05.10.04 – It was confirmed minutes ago that the long-awaited comeback of former WBF heavyweight champion Richel Hersisia will finally take place on October 16 in Halle/Saale, Germany on a promotion staged by Ulf Steinforth’s SES Boxing outfit.
The Dutchman was on a roll since turning professional in 2001, winning his first 21 fights on the trot and quickly earned the nickname ‘The Dutch Sonny Liston’ for the way he steamrolled his opponents. Along the way, Hersisia collected four belts of sorts, culminating in winning the WBF’s ‘world’ crown. Then came the big fight, a WBF defence against England’s Olympic hero Audley Harrison and while Richel certainly gave it a go, he was ultimately outgunned and lost in the fourth. Still, his popularity in the Netherlands soared, Harrison committed to further career assistance – and with so much at stake for the future, Team Hersisia decided to have him undergo elbow surgery during the summer instead of cashing in quickly.
Since a few months, Hersisia, 22-1 (14) and still in possession of his Dutch and Netherlands Kingdom titles, is back in training in the Den Haag gym of his trainer Mourad Louati. The dream to emulate his trainer and win the European heavyweight title is still burning, especially since that particular crown never before was in the hands of a Dutchman. “It feels great to get started again, I’m ready to kick some ass again!” stated Hersisia and Louati is not shy to confirm the new-found enthusiasm. “Surely, he’s burning, because this is the first time in long time that neither of his elbows is bothering him the slightest,” says Louati.
Hersisia’s opponent is to be announced shortly, but, said manager Olaf Schroeder of Fight Production, “don’t expect anybody special. This is about Richel feeling his way back in.” Schroeder also said that while Hersisia currently has no promotional ties with anyone, his comeback fight is a combined effort between Fight Production, Harrison’s A-Force Promotion and SES Boxing.