By Per Ake Persson: March 3, Rostock, Germany: Colombian supermiddle Alejandro Berrio won the vacant IBF title with a suprisingly easy third round stoppage of previously unbeaten Robert Stieglitz. Stieglitz won their first fight – an IBF eliminator – late in 2005 but was then kept waiting.. waiting before Joe Calzaghe relinquished the title. Berrio stayed active, worked hard and that probably made the difference the second time around. The Colombian used his jab well in the first, a round he won on two cards. In the second round Berrio got away with two low blows and Stieglitz seemed to lose his temper and began to attack hard..
Berrio kept his cool, had the sharper punches and won the second on all cards. In the third he floored Stieglitz with a right. Robert got up and looked ok but was caught and floored again and now he was finished. Trainer Werner Kirsch was ready to throw in the towel but referee Remigio Ruggieri allowed Stieglitz to continue. Berrio stayed calm, picked his punches well and Ruggieri stopped it at 2.37.
The crowd at the Town Hall were sad but at Sauerland Event everybody cheered as the new champion signed with them late last year.
“We expect Alejandro to make his first defence in May or June” said Wilfried Sauerland. “We have Danilo Haussler, Mads Larsen, Markus Beyer or Vitaly Tsypko but Haussler will get the question first and then we will see. We are open for all possibilities.” “If Team Palle wants to do a unification fight with Kessler we are open for offers” said matchmaker Hagen Doering.
Sebastian Sylvester made the crowd happy with a 12th round stoppage of brave Italian Alessio Furlan and retained the WBA I/C middleweight title. Sylvester controlled the fight most of the way but Furlan kept coming back and had his moments as well.
Russian heavy Alexander Povetkin impressed in stopping American David Bostice in the second. Povetkin opened up late in the first but was caught himself but showed a good chin to go with everything else. In the second he got Bostice against the ropes and worked him over with sharp hooks from both hands forcing a stoppage.
Big Timo Hoffmann knocked out once touted Romanian Konstantin Onofrei in the fourth and again looked like a new fighter.
Cruiser Alexander Frenkel also looked good in stopping Latvian Remigius Ziaus, who suffered a horrendous cut from a right hand and was stopped in the second.
Lightheavy Vladimir Povetkin is far from as good as his brother but won over Mayala Mbungi over four in his prodebut.