Cecilia Braekhus Ready For War With Jessica Balogun

The pound-for-pound queen is back. Cecilia Brækhus (24-0, 7 KOs) defends her WBC, WBA and WBO Female World Welterweight titles against Jessica Balogun (24-3, 12 KOs) on June 7th at the Sport and Congress Center in Schwerin, Germany.

The pair meet in a repeat of their 2012 contest and having previously shared a ring ‘’The First Lady’’ is aware of the threat posed by the German challenger.

‘’I have a lot of respect for Balogun. She is an explosive boxer with good technique and an unbelievable fighting spirit,’’ said Brækhus.

‘’She is one of the toughest female boxers around. In her last fight she moved up two weight divisions to face Christina Hammer, the WBO Female World Middleweight Champion, and pushed her for ten hard rounds.

‘’I am excited by the challenge. I look forward to testing myself against her once again. She gave me a good fight two years ago and I am expecting the same in Schwerin.’’

Since their first fight there has been a change of personnel in the Brækhus camp with the introduction of renowned German coach Otto Ramin.

Ramin will be in the Bergen boxer’s corner for the second time following an impressive points victory over Myriam Lamare in February.

‘’Otto is a fantastic coach,’’ said the Brækhus. ‘’We only had two months together before the Lamare fight. Since then we have got to know each other much better and have established a great relationship. We now have a really good understanding.

‘’In the gym we have been working on improving my strengths. I am natural boxer not a brawler so a lot of the focus has been on improving my movement and footwork. I believe we will see the benefit of this on June 7th.

‘’Everything has gone to plan. I feel good! I am in great shape and I can’t wait to get back in the ring and back to doing what I love.’’

Norwegian fans can watch Cecilia Brækhus defend her WBC, WBA and WBO World titles against Jessica Balogun live on Viasat 4 from 20.00.

http://www.boxingscene.com/cecilia-braekhus-ready-war-with-jessica-balogun–78564

Pound-for-pound number one Cecilia Brækhus (24-0, 7 KOs) will defend her WBC, WBA & WBO Female Welterweight titles against Jessica Balogun (24-3, 12 KOs) on June 7th at the Sport and Congress Centre in Scherwin, Germany.

The First Lady returns to action following a unanimous points victory over Myriam Lamare at the Nordic Fight Night in Frederikshavn, Denmark in February.

Says Cecilia Brækhus: “I can not wait to get back in the ring again. I’ve been training hard the last five-six weeks, hoping to get a fight before the summer. Now I am very happy, and very pleased that Team Sauerland and Team Brækhus have left our winter and spring disagreements behind us, and found a common path that is good for both parties. My great desire to fight on German TV is an added bonus.”

Braekhus faces Jessica ‘’The Hammer’’ Balogun in a return of their 2012 contest.

“I have great respect for Jessica Balogun. She gave me a tough match when I beat her almost two years ago. But since then I have improved myself on all levels of my boxing, so she will not get any snuggle time in the ring in Scherwin”, Brækhus adds.

Said promoter Nisse Sauerland: ‘’We are pleased to have reached an understanding with Cecilia. As we have always said the most important thing is that Cecilia remains active and I am delighted that the parties have found a solution and that she will be boxing for Team Sauerland. We hope that Cecilia can still box three times this year. She is a fantastic athlete and we look forward to seeing her back in the ring.

‘’Balogun is a strong opponent and must not be overlooked. She gave Cecilia a tough test the first time round and will be out for revenge in Schwerin.’’

Brækhus joins an action packed show on June 7th, which also features WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Juergen Braehmer and British Heavyweight star David Price. Norwegian boxing fans can watch Brækhus’ in action on Viasat 4.

Said Stian Kleppo, Head of Sport at Viasat Norway: “We are very pleased that Cecilia Brækhus’ next fight will be broadcast on Viasat 4. Cecilia is one of Norway’s biggest sports stars, and we are looking forward to showing the Norwegian people another fantastic fight when “The First Lady” returns on June 7th.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/cecilia-baekhus-back-action-on-6-7-scherwin–78288

Photos: Team SES / P. Gercke –

WBO super middleweight champion Robert Stieglitz (46-3, 26 KOs) and former champion Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28 KOs) will complete their trilogy on Saturday night at the GETEC Arena in Magdeburg, Germany. The series is 1:1 so far, with Abraham winning by decision in Berlin in August 2012 and Stieglitz winning by fourth round TKO in March 2013 in Magdeburg. SES outbid Sauerland Event to bring the rubber match back to Stieglitz’ backyard.

Today’s press conference took place in Magdeburg’s Cultural History Museum.

Robert Stieglitz: I am delighted that the press conference is again here in the Cultural History Museum. That gave me luck the last time and that’s exactly how it should be again. Saturday will be a real collision in the ring. Outside the ring I’m relaxed, because I’m here at home and Arthur is coming into the lion’s den. I will defend my title successfully and not give in.

Arthur Abraham: The previous fights are in the past, we are very well prepared and promise an exciting fight the fans will like. I have many fans here backing me. I don’t feel like I’m in a lion’s den. but rather in the cave of the cat. No matter where I’m boxing, I feel at home. It’s all or nothing! There’s nothing more important!

SES trainer Dirk Dzemski: We have a good plan. The question is, who can implement their tactics best. And I’m sure that’s Robert. The difference is our great team.

Abraham trainer Ulli Wegner: I think we all can do something great on Saturday. If it’s named as “Fight of the Year”, that’s fine. I feel terrific in Magdeburg, since the public is so knowledgable. Both camps are very well prepared. This fight is what makes boxing so interesting.

SES promoter Ulf Steinforth: Robert and Dirk Dzemski were a team for the first two sensational fights. The third fight had to take place here, because we have been successful here. It’s important to me because I’m superstitious and it has always worked so far. This third fight is super exciting. We have all the support we have always wanted, which is virtually an unbeatable advantage. This is also about the rivalry of the trainers, experience against youth, and it’s a battle of the promoters. But, here in Magdeburg we’re good hosts!

Sauerland Event promoter Kalle Sauerland: We look forward to a great fight. You only have to look at the first two fights. Trilogies are better than rematches. It’s “Champions League” boxing. We know what to do and look forward to being his guest.

WBO/WBF female middleweight champion Christina Hammer defends against Jessica Balogun in the co-feature.

http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/stieglitz-abraham-iii-presser-237700

Cecilia Braekhus, the WBO, WBA and WBC female welterweight champion came out blazing to score a unanimous decision over contender Jessica “The Hammer” Balogun (22-1) through ten hard-fought rounds of action at the Herning Kongrescenter in Herning, Denmark last night.

The judges scored the bout 99-92, 97-93, 97-93 in favor of Braekhus who exhibited much better boxing skills than her opponent. The previously undefeated Balogun, from Aachen, Germany, was a game opponent, however, who kept on coming despite Braekhus’ evident dominance. This led to some rounds that have been characterized as “messy,” but Braekhus’ superior ring generalship kept her in control of the fight to take the win.

Braekhus, a Columbian-born fighter who resides in Bergen, Norway, is considered pound-for-pound one of the best female boxers in the world. Her record stands at a perfect 20-0 with five wins by way of knockout. In recent outings she has defeated such boxing luminaries as Jill Emery (2011) and Chevelle Hallback (2011) with similar results.

http://www.zimbio.com/Manny+Pacquiao/articles/rnP9Noc8ekq/Cecilia+Braekhus+retains+titles+10+round+bout

Date: June 2, 2012

WBO Female Welterweight Championship Title Bout

Location: Herning Kongrescenter, Herning, Denmark

Result: Braekhus wins by unanimous decision

Referee: Mikael Hook

Judges: Robin Dolpierre (97-93), Jesus Morata Garcia (99-92), Mickey Vann (97-93)

Supervisor: Dennis Gilmartin

Promoter: Sauerland Events

Cecilia Braekhus (20-0, 5 KOs) defended her WBA/WBC/WBO Female Welterweight Titles at the Nordic Fight Night in Herning, Denmark on Saturday night, beating highly-rated Jessica Balogun (22-2, 10 KOs) on points. The First Lady was ahead 99-92, 97-93 and 97-93 on the scorecards. “Jessica was a tough opponent, we knew each other very well, but I did what we had trained for and I am happy about the win,” Braekhus said. “This was a good victory for me.”

Braekhus stamped her authority on the battle early, landing good one-two combinations and uppercuts. Balogun kept pressing but had most attacks absorbed by the First Lady´s defense. In the later rounds, Braekhus turned it on again and showed her superior boxing skills as she cruised to a clear points victory. “This was a great performance against a very tough challenger,” promoter Nisse Sauerland said. “Now Cecilia will go on vacation, take a rest and then defend her title collection against the winner of the Holm-Mathis fight in what will be the female clash of the year..”

Also in Herning, IBF Light Heavyweight Title contender Karo Murat clinched a seventh-round TKO victory over Sandro Siproshvili, while Luke Blackledge scored a fourth-round KO win over Mads Larsen. Ahmad Kaddour defeated Gary Boulden on points. Reda Zam Zam showed his skills against Giuseppe Langella before the Italian injured his ankle (TKO3). Up-and-coming Swedish light heavyweight Erik Skoglund knocked out Fouad Nasri, and Torben Keller´s fight against Luca Arrigo ended in a draw.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=32281&more=1