Hamburg, June 18th 2007 – Sinan Samil Sam’s wounds after his loss to Oliver McCall (Sam suffered a bad cut under the left eye in round 3) just start to heal while arena-CEO Ahmet Öner already offers a positive summary of the event in Ankara’s Atatürk SporSalonu.
Öner: “We are proud that we turned the comeback of professional boxing to Turkey after nearly 30 years into a complete success. The hall was sold out, and the crowd was really frenetic and supportive. All our Turkish partners – members of the government, the mayor of the city of Ankara, the president of the Turkish amateur boxing federation Caner Doganeli, our Turkish TV partner FOX, all our sponsors, staff members and helpers – were very satisfied with the whole event. We have had positives reactions from Germany as well. Our German TV-partner Premiere was pleased. Together we are looking forward to our next events.
I am satisfied with the efforts of our boxers as well. Of course, it is a pity that Sinan sustained this bad cut under the eye in the 3rd round and lost the fight because he wasn’t able to see properly in the later rounds. But that’s boxing. You are never secure from injuries in a contact sport. In the re-match that will probably take place in Ankara this year Sinan will have the chance to redeem himself for the defeat.”
WBC-Präsident Jose Sulaiman who whitnessed the fights in Ankara from the first row was delighted by the event as well. Sulaiman: “We have seen fantastic fights. The World Boxing Council really appreciates the work of young visionary promoters like Ahmet Öner who try new ways and help to spread professional boxing all around the globe. I am looking forward to his event in Istanbul. He is doing a great job for boxing in general.
As far as the boxers are concerned besides the main fighters Juan Carlos Gomez, Oliver McCall and Sinan Samil Sam I was mostly impressed by young heavyweights Steffen Kretschmann and Oldanier Solis. Kretschmann is probably the most talented German heavyweight for years. He is more gifted than Axel Schulz and Timo Hoffmann and will definitely make a statement in the heavyweight scene. And Solis is without any doubt the next big thing. I am sure that he will make his way straight to the top. He is a real powerhouse and definitely got what it takes to become heavyweight champion of the world.
Arena’s rising stars will be back in action on July 6th in the arena Gym in Hamburg. Besides Kretschmann and Solis, Olympic Champion Yuriorkis Gamboa who imposed the audience in Ankara by taking out Czech Araik Sachbazjan in 4 will also get back into the ring.