Team Bouadla is convinced that the 14-month layoff has made WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Emeritus Mikkel Kessler rusty. On Saturday night, the Viking Warrior (43-2, 32 KOs) returns to the ring for the first time since his epic points victory over then-WBC Champion Carl Froch, taking on WBO #5 Mehdi Bouadla (22-3, 10 KOs). “In life, it´s all about timing, and now is the time to beat Kessler,” Boudla´s promoter Bernard Roos said at today´s final press conference at PARKEN Stadium. “Kessler is a great champion and in six months he would beat everybody, including Ward and Froch, but now after his long break Mehdi “The Bull” Bouadla will rise to the occasion and defeat him.”
Bouadla was quick to agree. “I respect Mikkel but I am here to win. I think the long break has made him rusty. This is my ticket to the big fights. There will be a lot of disappointed Danish fans on Saturday night.”
Kessler was unimpressed by Team Boudla´s statements. “I have trained hard and I am in excellent shape,” he stated. “It´s great to be back. I am full of power and I am ready to take care of business on Saturday night. It will be exciting to fight in front of my home fans at PARKEN. I will put on a great show. It is still my ambition to prove myself as the best super-middleweight out there and Bouadla will not get into my way.”
Added coach Jimmy Montoya: “Bouadla is a tough guy. We respect him a lot. But Mikkel has trained very, very hard. He did well against Froch but he can still get better. We have a long road ahead of us and we will start with a victory on Saturday night.”
Said promoter Kalle Sauerland: “We are thrilled that Mikkel is finally back in the ring. To have the Danish national hero fight in the biggest football stadium in his home city of Copenhagen will be very exciting. Bouadla is a strong and determined guy, he is not the WBO #5 for nothing, but there is no way he can keep up with the power of the Viking Warrior. The international interest in this fight is huge, SHOWTIME will broadcast the clash in the US and Sky Sports will show it in England. Sports fans all around the globe will be watching as the Viking Warrior returns in style.”
Sturm vs. Macklin Live to U.S. on EPIX June 25
NEW YORK (June 1, 2011) – Live world championship boxing returns to EPIX with the World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight title fight between defending champion FELIX STURM and top-rated contender MATTHEW “Mack the Knife” MACKLIN, televised live to the U.S. from the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, Germany, Saturday, June 25, exclusively on EPIX the multiplatform premium entertainment service. EpixHD.com, will stream the fight live as part of a free two-week trial offer. The live broadcast and the live stream on EPIX and EpixHD.com, respectively, will begin at 5 p.m. ET.
As has become the custom, EPIX will once again present the closed-captioned simulcast of this world championship rumble on a jumbotron in Times Square (Broadway at 44th St.)
“The middleweight division is one of boxing’s most storied and exciting divisions and EPIX looks forward to exclusively broadcasting the Sturm-Macklin middleweight title fight to the U.S. It should be a very exciting match-up,” said Mark Greenberg, President and CEO of EPIX.
Sturm (35-2-1, 15 KOs), of Leverkusen, Germany, is a three-time middleweight champion. His current reign as WBA champion, now in its fourth year, began on April 28, 2007 with a 12-round decision victory over defending champion Javier Castillejo, avenging a previous world title loss. Sturm has successfully defended the title nine times since with the most recent title defense taking place in February, a seventh-round TKO of Ronald Hearns, son of the Hall of Famer Tommy Hearns.
Macklin (28-2, 19 KOs), hails from Birmingham, England, though the proud Irishman travels on an Irish passport. He enters this world championship battle riding a four-year, 11-bout winning streak, including a third-round TKO victory of Wayne Elcock for the British middleweight title in 2009 and European middleweight championship victories over Amin Asikainen (TKO 1) in 2009 and Shalva Jomardashv (TKO 6) and Ruben Varon (W 12) in 2010. He is currently world-rated No. 2 by the WBA and No. 4 by the World Boxing Organization.
Amateur Star William Cayzer To Pro-Debut On June 4th
This Saturday William Cayzer’s childhood dream will come true, as the eighteen year old from Eltham in South London is set to make his professional debut at the Olivia Goodwin Main Events promoted ‘Search & Destroy’ event at York Hall in London on June 4th.
An outstanding amateur, young William built an enviable reputation as a future prospect following his beating two of London’s top young stars, George Carman, who is now signed with promoter Frank Warren, and TKO Boxing Gym’s Brett O’Callaghan – who also features on the bill this Saturday.
William’s coach Steve Barrett has gone on record stating that William is not just one of London’s best new prospects but is also a certain future British Champion. High praise indeed coming from such a renowned and respected trainer as Steve, who is the Father and coach of former English Super Featherweight Champion and current International Masters Lightweight Champion Ryan Barrett, who headlines the Search & Destroy event.
Earlier today William took a little time to talk about his upcoming professional debut, “I believe it’s going to go all right. I’m just going to go out there and do what I do and hopefully I’ll bang him out.
As an amateur I always used to go out there and put on a good show. I was always a pro trapped in an amateurs body so yeah I’ve always been like a pro fighter. Every competition I’d gone in for I’d usually come out winning, sometimes second best but usually winning.
Since about the age of fourteen my style has been more suitable to the pros. It’s nonsense the amateur game these days, if your face don’t fit then you aint going nowhere. It’s more who you know than what you know.
I’m not a hundred percent who I’ll be fighting yet, there’s a list of fighters and we’re just waiting to have a little pick on who the opponent will be. I’m not fussed really, I don’t mind who it is, I’m going to win.”
William Cayzer versus Matt Seawright will be part of the fifteen bout undercard supporting the Ryan Barrett – Geoffrey Munika International Masters lightweight Title fight at the Olivia Goodwin Main Events promoted ‘Search & Destroy’ event at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 4th June 2011.
Tickets, priced £35 (Standard seated) and £50 (Ringside) for the ‘Search and Destroy’ event are available on-line now at www.tkoboxoffice.com, in person at The TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA or from any boxer appearing on the show. For further information call: 07960 850645