Joy and elation for Cruiserweight Yoan Pablo Hernandez (23-1, 12 KOs) at the start of 2011: The 26-year-old WBA World Rankings leader in the Cruiserweight division will challenge Steve Herelius (21-1-1, 12 Kos, France) in Mülheim/Duesseldorf on February 12. “After Hernandez successfully obtained the right to a mandatory challenge from the World Boxing Governing Body WBA with a KO victory over Ali Ismailov in Berlin in December, the opportunity to fight Herelius soon emerged,” explained Sauerland Event CEO Chris Meyer. “We immediately tried to realise this opportunity and we managed to bring this fight to Germany..”
Hernandez is buzzing with excitement. “Last July, Herelius gained the interim World Title in Stuttgart by beating Firat Arslan in sweltering conditions. He showed then that he is a strong fighter. He throws lots of punches and was very active. But he leaves a lot of holes in his defence. That is my chance,” said the hard-hitting challenger, who was born in Cuba and is trained by star-coach Ulli Wegner. Hernandez, who trains in Berlin, added before the duel of the southpaws: “In 2002, I won the Junior World Title in Santiago de Cuba. Winning the professional World Championship belt would be a thousand times more valuable.”
Alexander Frenkel will also be on the monster Sauerland Event card. The European Champion in the Cruiserweight division, who won the European crown in September with a stunning KO victory in the seventh round against the ex-World Champion Enzo Maccarinelli in Birmingham last September, will defend his title for the first time. The sensational KO last year was voted Knockout of the Year by Dan Raphael (ESPN.com). The 25-year-old was originally due to step into the ring in a Sauerland Event show on February 26, but due to the Hernandez developments the event has been merged forming the spectacular February 12 show.
Furthermore on the undercard, Super Middleweight King Arthur Abraham will fight a ten-round contest