WBO Female Junior Lightweight World Champion Ewa Brodnicka (19-0, 2 KOs) faces mandatory challenger Mikaela Mayer (13-0, 5 KOs) on Saturday at The Bubble.

Brodnicka-Mayer world title bout to stream LIVE Saturday on ESPN+ starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.

Mikaela Mayer:
“I feel great. I feel like I’m deserving. I’ve been the No. 1 contender for a long time. This fight will put me a step {closer to} my goal.”

“I think that she is concerned. She has never been in the ring with someone like me.”

“This is a team effort. We have been together for a long time. It started 11 years ago with the Olympic trials. It will mean a lot to me to make {head trainer} Al {Mitchell} proud on Saturday night.”

Ewa Brodnicka
“She is the No.1 contender, but I think this fight was going to happen anyway.”

“I brought my belt just to show it to you. Look at it. I didn’t bring this belt to give it to you. That’s not happening. For sure.”

“I have a lot of things against me. But I’m ready. I don’t care if she says that she doesn’t respect me. She makes a lot of mistakes, and I’m going to take advantage of all of them.”

Photos: M. Williams / Top Rank

WBO Jr. Lightweight Female Champion Ewa Brodnicka (17-0, 2KO) will face former unified champion Edith Soledad Matthysse (16-10-1, 1KO).

This contest will take place on October 4 in Hala Sportowa, Czestochowa, Poland.

The 35-year old fighter from Poland is one of the reasons the division is exciting. She will be making her fourth title defense since winning the belt in 2018. She was elevated to full champion when German Ramona Kuehne vacated the title in 2018 to make the move to lightweight.

The all-action aggressive style of the champion will undoubtedly make this a very good fight to watch.

Matthysse, age 38, is a very tough competitor with a deceiving record. She brings an overwhelming amount of experience to the table.

The tough Argentinian has shared the ring with some of the best in the business. That list features Jackie Nava, Marcela Eliana Acuna, Yazmin Rivas and Jelena Mrdjenovich. This experience should prove valuable going into a fight against a challenger coming of a two fight win streak.

INTERESTING FACTS

Brodnicka has never fought outside of Poland. Also, she was part of the support team for Tomas Adamek when he fought Jarrell Miller back in 2018.

Matthysse, is the sister to former WBA “regular” welterweight champion Lucas Matthysse. Additionally, her claim to fame was when she defeated Mrdjenovich in 2015 by a highly unlikely unanimous decision to become the unified Jr. Lightweight champion. She would go on to lose the immediate rematch.

This has the makings of an exciting fight, as both women have that aggressive, come-forward style and finish every combination with a body shot.

This women division is deep with mouth watering unification match-up possibilities.

Hopefully, as the year closes, we will see at least one take place to provide some clarity.

Via https://3kingsboxing.com/brodnicka-vs-matthysse-set/

#Poland #AndStill WBO Jr. Lightweight Female World Champion Ewa Brodnicka (17-0, 2 KO), of Poland, defeated Janeth Pérez (24-4-2, 6 KO), of México, via majority decision at the Jelenia Gora Coliseum. Scorecards: 97-93, 95-95 & 96-94. Promoter: Tymex Boxing Promotion. TV: Poland PolSat Sport HD

The 10-round fight was a tight, nervy affair with the aggressive Mexican pushing forward most of the night but getting picked off by the more technical Pole with her jab. Brodnicka was taller than her opponent and used sharp footwork to keep her distance, forcing Perez to lunge in and expose herself.

The victory takes the unbeaten Pole to 17 wins in 17 fights, and she now must be eyeing up a super-fight against another world champion. She could get into the ring against Hyun Mi Choi of South Korea, who is the WBA Champion, Maiva Hamadouche, the IBF World Champion from France or Finland’s WBC Champion Eva Wahlstrom.

If Brodnicka is feeling very adventurous she could step up in weight class and face off against boxing superstar Katie Taylor at Lightweight. Taylor, from Ireland, has made a big name for herself in the United States and is set to defend her four titles against Belgian Delfine Persoon at Madison Square Garden on June 1 this year.

via Adam Warżawa / www.thefirstnews.com

THIS SATURDAY IN POLAND: WBO Jr. Lightweight Female World Champion Ewa Brodnicka (16-0, 2 KO), of Poland, will face Janeth Pérez (24-4-2, 6 KO), of México at the Jelenia Gora Coliseum. Promoter: Tymex Boxing Promotion. TV: Poland PolSat Sport HD

Brodnicka entered the ring for the last time in October 2018. She defeated Nozipho Bell. Earlier her rivals were Sarah Pucek, Viviane Obenauf and Anita Torti . For over a year, Brodnicka is the owner of the WBO belt in the Jr. Lightweight category. Perez is a two-time world champion, with victories over Yolis Marrugo Franco, and Galina Koleva Ivanova, respectively.

By Ryan Maquiñana

A Polish invasion has overwhelmed New Jersey in recent times, with Tomasz Adamek packing in Newark’s Prudential Center, and Garden State residents Pawel Wolak and Mariusz Wach beginning to make waves on the world stage.

Unbeaten middleweight prospect Patrick Majewski (17-0, 11 KOs) hopes to join them soon enough.  Originally from Radom, Poland, the 31-year-old nicknamed “The Machine” has a no-frills, wear-you-down style about him that has endeared him to rabid red-and-white clad fight aficionados in the Northeast.

Now residing in Atlantic City, the current NABO 160-pound champ will be fighting for the NABF version of the crown against tough Colombian Jose Miguel Torres (22-5, 19 KOs) this Saturday at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut, on the undercard of Wach’s bout against Oliver McCall.

In probably one of the most candid interviews you’ll ever read, the former construction worker and physical education student tells BoxingScene about how his deep passion for the sport prompted his rise up the rankings despite a limited amateur career, what it’s like to have the Polish fanbase behind him, and the idea of a feeling so strong that no drug can compare to its magnitude.

ON HOW HE CAME TO AMERICA FROM POLAND:

“I came here in 2001 through a student exchange program with my five friends.  We started working here and saw it as a great opportunity.  We tried to extend our visas to stay in the United States.  We started in Salt Lake City, then two years in New York, then when I came down to New Jersey.”

ON HIS BEGINNINGS IN THE SPORT:

“I used to do Greco-Roman wrestling for seven years all the way through high school, so I thought about trying boxing.  In 2003, I started boxing, and I met a former fighter named James McCray.  He asked me to fight in the Philadelphia Golden Gloves, and he said ‘Come on, you can do it.’

“So he talked me into it, and I won.  After that, it was all about boxing.  My amateur record was 12-2.  Then I moved to Atlantic City.  Bill Johnson has been my trainer now for six years.  My team turned me pro, and so far, so good.”

ON PARALLELS BETWEEN BOXING AND GRECO-ROMAN WRESTLING:

“I’ve had experience with making weight for sure.  It’s a combat sport, but it’s a totally different sport with boxing as far as using totally different power and strength.  It’s a similar sport but much different as well.

“It gave me good experience and good conditioning.  All my life, I loved to play sports, like wrestling volleyball, soccer, basketball.  I was studying in college for two years to be a physical education teacher, so I’ve always been active.”

ON WHAT HE LOVES ABOUT BOXING:

“I love to train every day, but most important for me, is that when they raise your hand after winning the fight.  I work so hard to see this.  I do everything to enjoy that moment, that couple seconds after the fight when they raise your hand up, and you win.  The more you think of it, nothing else gives you that great feeling.

“I always tell the kids that no drugs can give you that feeling.  It’s so real, and it lasts for a couple weeks to me.  It’s really motivating.  Boxing as a sport is great.   I love to come to the gym, see everybody, having fun with everybody.

“Last time me and Chuck Mussachio had great sparring for eight rounds.  He said after, ‘Sorry for my language,’ and after we were just laughing.  It was good work.  It’s just a great environment.  You can see all sportsmen, and all good fighters are so respectful.  I just love to be around fighters and the coaches and to be around boxing clubs.”

ON HIS INTERACTION WITH THE POLISH FANS:

“I had a chance to fight on the undercard of Tomasz Adamek in the Prudential Center two times.  They’re great and there’s so many of them.  What a great experience.  Even when I’m fighting I could hear the fans in the middle of the round cheering my name.  Ma-jew-ski!  Ma-jew-ski!  It was so loud I could hear it.  But I was focusing on my opponent.

“They also put our fights on Polish T.V., so it gives me extra motivation during the fight knowing all my family, all my friends back home see me.  It was compelling.  Polish fans are so great and so supportive.

“With this fight on November 5th with Mariusz Wach as the main event they’ve already sold like 5,000 tickets.  They’re working so hard to set a record over there.  It’s going to be a great evening.”

ON THE CHANGE IN OPPONENTS:

“It was supposed to be Dionisio Miranda.  He was the original opponent.  I think he got in trouble or something, so now I have a new opponent.  It’s throwing me off my rhythm a little bit because we were working hard on a gameplan to fight Dionisio, but no matter what, I’ve got to be ready for everything.  If I can knock him out, then I’ll go for it, but if I have to go war, then I have to be ready for that, put all my heart into the ring and into the fight.”

ON TRAINER BILL JOHNSON AND THE LEGACY OF HIS SON, IBF WORLD LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPION LEAVANDER JOHNSON, WHO PASSED AWAY IN 2005 AFTER A FIGHT WITH JESUS CHAVEZ:

“[Bill] is like a grandfather to me.  Every day in the gym we’re having fun.  Back then, Leavander would see me and say, ‘Look at this guy.  He can punch!  He can punch!  He can fight!  He can fight!’  But back then, I was so green.  I was throwing wide punches, but I think Leavander was speaking about my heart.

“Back then I was a nobody, but Leavander would always find time to work with me and talk to me and telling me good things.  To be honest, I didn’t really know how good he was, and then one day I see him on HBO fighting, and I was like, ‘Wow.’

“After what happened to Leavander, everybody in the gym was sad.  It was—I don’t really know how to say—it was really hard for Bill.  That was his son, and he was right there with him.  Bill took a couple months off from the gym, but he knew Leavander wanted him to stay in the gym.  That’s why he came back to keep training me and training other fighters.

“We actually started talking often about Leavander, me and Bill, and I started thinking about whether I should talk about him to Bill.  But Leavander is all over our gym.  Wherever we go in A.C., there is always Leavander’s name.  Even the street’s name is Leavander Johnson Boulevard.  So we always talk about Leavander, as in who he was fighting, and what he was doing.  I think Leavander’s spirit lives on in the gym.”

ON HIS CAREER PROGRESSION TO THE NABO TITLE:

“When I was an amateur, my team, they say, ‘You’re ready for pro.’  I wasn’t sure, but I said ‘O.K.’  I won my first couple fights, but I knew I had a long way to go in a short amount of time.  I started training and training, and I had small dreams.  One day I see ‘Mighty’ Mike Arnaoutis training in our gym in Atlantic City.  When he won the NABO title, I thought, ‘Wow, maybe I hope one day I can win that title one day.

“That’s so great.  That’s such a big thing.  So I kept training harder and harder, getting better and better, and the next thing I see, I’m 16-0 and my next fight is for the NABO title.  My dream was coming true, so I beat [Marcus] Upshaw, and I got it.  And as soon as I accomplished this dream, this bigger dream is coming up.  I see a small light at the end of the tunnel where I could maybe beat those top guys and get a shot at the title, and I’ll do anything to do it.”

ON DEFEATING UPSHAW FOR THE NABO STRAP:

“With Upshaw, I really had to close the distance.  I had to put the pressure on him.  People think I’m a pressure fighter.  Yeah, for this fight, I had to be because he was 6-foot-3 and he has a big reach on me.  So when I stayed outside, he was popping me from the distance.  I had to get close to him so he won’t be able to do it.  So all 10 rounds I would just pressured and pressured him.  Then the fifth round came, and I dropped him.  Sixth round, I dropped him, too.

“But as far as my boxing skills, I’m a pressure fighter but I try to do everything.  I can box.  The more you are able to do in the ring is better for you.  You can fight forward, but what if someone is pushing you?  You need to know how to fight backward, use your jab and move around, too.  So I work on many things. I work with my balance and my defense.

“I try to see the whole picture in the ring.   I study boxing.  It’s like a science.  For many people, boxing is just punching and whipping each other and getting hit, but boxing is much more than this.”

ON HIS PROMOTIONAL SITUATION WITH GLOBAL BOXING:

“I’m with Global Boxing Promotions right now.  Because of Mariusz Kolodziej, I got a shot at the NABO and now the NABF title.  You know, I was working construction when I first started fighting, but I was working too many hours that I couldn’t really focus on boxing.  I was getting burned out.

“Mariusz saw me at one of my fights and said he liked me and offered me a contract.  He said, ‘Just try it out with us, and if you don’t like it, you can leave anytime.’  I’m happy I did.  Without Mariusz, I don’t know if I’m still fighting.”

ON LEARNING NUANCES OF THE SPORT FROM OBSERVING OTHER TOP FIGHTERS:

“Every top fighter is great.  Last night I was watching Sergio Martinez.  He’s so nice, relaxed, with accurate punching.  He’s moving, ice skating in the ring.  I like Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard, [Manny] Pacquiao, [Floyd] Mayweather, [and] Andre’s Berto’s speed.  I look at them all.  How they could be so dynamic and relaxed, these champions and top fighters?  From each of them, you can pick up small things, and that’s good for any fighter.”

ON THE MENTAL ASPECT OF THE SPORT:

“Mentally, your head’s got to be straight for every fight.  I think I’m strong mentally, but I try to work on things.  Going to the fight, there is some stress like you’re afraid of something, so I try to control this and try to relax in the ring so I perform better.  Everything is mental.  My trainer says, ‘Don’t worry about the fans until after the fight.  You can celebrate after.  Now you have to focus on your opponent.’ “

ON CONTINUING TO IMPROVE:

“We always take it one fight at a time, so I do everything to be 100 percent ready for every fight.  Sometimes I see something one day in training, and I write it down so I can focus on it to get better in the next couple day.  Maybe it’s combinations.  Maybe I need better balance.  We see what is coming next.”

ON FIGHTING FOR THE NABF TITLE AND THE ROAD AHEAD:

“Every fight from here on this level is going to get tougher and tougher.  There is not many opponents to choose right now.  If I fight for the NABF title, I would be ranking in the top 15 in the world.  I see all these big names up there around my name, it’s motivating me so much and I better step up and be ready for those fights.

“I was never thinking I’d be a pro fighter.  Now here I am, and I must do my best or not try at all.  You can get hurt in boxing when you’re not ready for the fight, so I must work as hard as I can.”

ON HIS FAMILY AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF HIS FRIENDS BEING A WORLD AWAY:

“My entire family is back there in Poland.  I have a couple friends in the United States, but that’s it.  I don’t have a wife and kids.  I’m married to boxing right now.”

ON A MESSAGE TO THE FIGHT FANS:

“Keep following me and watching my fights.  I’ll keep giving exciting fights.  We fight for the fans.  If not for the fans, who else are we fighting fight for?  I’m working hard for the fans so they can see a great show on the 5th.”

 

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&opt=printable&id=45640

Ola Afolabi, WBO Intercontinental Cruiserweight Champion, is scheduled to make his second title defense as the co-feature of the huge Vitali Klitschko vs Tomasz Adamek show September 10 in Wroclaw Poland.

Afolabi is 17-2 and rated #2 in the WBO, #3 WBA, #7 WBC and #7 in the IBF. He was scheduled to fight undefeated Polish cruiserweight star Pawel Kolodziej, 28-0. This was a great matchup of two top cruiserweights that are rated in the top ten of every sanctioning body.

“Everybody was excited about this fight,” stated Tom Loeffler of K2 Promotions, promotional company of Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. “We signed Ola one year ago and he is now a completely different fighter since he has started working with Vitali’s trainer, Fritz Sdunek. “K2 has featured Ola on their last 3 shows and he has responded with great results. Afolabi was born in London and his fan base in the UK is very strong from impressive KO wins over two fellow Brits, Enzo Maccarinelli and Terry Dunstan. Afolabi’s last fight was on July 2 with a first round KO over Terry Dunstan, the UK Cruiserweight Champion. This was on the same show where Wladimir Klitschko added the WBA championship to his collection of titles when he dominated David Haye over every round.

Andrew Wasilewski of 12 Round Knockout Promotions, Promoter of Kolodziej, was very dejected when he found out the news. “We regret very much that Pawel will not be able to fight Ola Afolabi September 10 in Wroclaw. This will be the biggest boxing event in Polish history and Pawel wanted to be a part of it. He was involved in a car accident, he is ok, but the doctor said that he could not train properly for the fight because of the injuries that he suffered.” Wasilewski’s company also promotes WBC Cruiserweight champion, Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.

K2 is currently looking for a replacement opponent and offered the fight to Mateusz Masternak, 23-0, who is also an undefeated Polish cruiserweight and is scheduled to fight on the same show. “I thought this was the perfect solution,” said Loeffler, “but Masternak’s people turned down the fight because of short notice, even though he has been training to fight on the same show. Ola is like Vitali and at a point in his career where he will fight anyone, even accepting two undefeated Polish fighters in their home country.”

The historic event will be held in the brand new 42,000 seat soccer stadium in Wroclaw, Poland. The show will be broadcast in over 110 countries and on pay per view in Poland starting at 9pm. The Klitschko vs Adamek main event will be shown live on HBO in the US at 5pm EST and also live in Germany on RTL at 11pm.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=29053&more=1