Cecilia Braekhus: I’ll show that I’m in a different league than Retzke

Credit:  Photo by Wende

Cecilia Brækhus met with the Norwegian media at a press conference today in Oslo ahead of her Female World Welterweight title defense on Saturday night at the Falconer Hall at the Radisson Blu in Copenhagen.

Notable in her absence was the pound for pound queen’s  opponent, Jennifer Retzke, who refused to attend the scheduled press conference due to a perceived snub by ‘The First Lady’ when the pair came face-to-face at a shared media day in Berlin.

Brækhus laughed off claims from Team Retzke, who had labelled her a ‘diva’ and ‘disrespectful’ for allegedly refusing to pose for a picture in front of the German challenger’s sponsors.

‘’Her team are completely crazy,’’ said Brækhus. ‘’When I politely declined to take a picture after a long day, I had no idea it would cause this kind of a reaction. I find it funny. I’m not a diva, so for them to say that, makes me laugh.

‘’I’m not one for trash talking, I’ll leave that to my opponents, but what I will say is I’m 100% focused. I believe I’m in a different league to Retzke and I plan to show that on Saturday night!’’

Said promoter Nisse Sauerland: ‘’It’s a shame Jennifer felt she was unable to attend today’s press event. However, I’m pleased to announce that Team Retzke will be attending Thursday’s press conference in Copenhagen. I look forward to seeing them there, almost as much as I look forward to seeing Cecilia beat Jennifer on Saturday night!’’

Also presents at today’s press conference were Norwegian prospects Tim Robin Lihaug, Alexander Hagen and Kai Robin Havnaa, who all feature on an action-packed bill in Copenhagen. Lihaug challenges George Beroshvili for the vacant WBO Youth Super Middleweight title, Hagen faces Karel Horejsek and Havnaa makes his professional debut against Tomislav Rudan.

http://www.proboxing-fans.com/cecilia-braekhus-ill-show-that-im-in-a-different-league-than-retzke_112514/

By Sauerland Promotions

Boxing history was made in Copenhagen, Denmark last night. Norwegian star Cecilia Brækhus (26-0, 7 KOs) became the first female boxer to unify a division by holding all four major titles simultaneously. The WBC, WBA & WBO Champion scored a unanimous decision victory over IBF Champion Ivana Habazin (13-2, 5 KOs) to become the undisputed welterweight queen.

Cheered on by her loyal army of travelling Norwegian fans, Brækhus once again proved why she is the pound-for-pound female number one with a classy performance against the tenacious Habazin. All three judges scored the fight 100-90 in favour of ‘The First Lady’.

‘’I’ve been dreaming of this moment for a long time,’’ said Brækhus. ‘’To become the first female boxer to unify a division is a huge achievement and something that I am extremely proud of. I would like to thank all the fans that travelled to Copenhagen to support me and Ivana for the part she played in this historic fight.’’

Said promoter Nisse Sauerland: ‘’Cecilia is a phenomenal athlete. Not only will she go down in history as the first female unified champion but it is our belief that she will be remembered as the greatest female boxer of all time.’’

Brækhus’ success was shared by Swedish stablemates Klara Svensson and Erik Skoglund, both of whom claimed titles at Team Sauerland’s Nordic Fight Night show.

‘The Swedish Princess’ Klara Svensson (14-0, 5 KOs) got her first taste of world glory. The 26 year-old from Malmo defeated Marie Riederer (15-2-1, 10 KOs) for the interim WBC Female World Light Welterweight title. The judges scored the fight 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91 for Svensson.

‘’This was the best performance of my career so far,’’ said Svensson. ‘’Riederer was very tough, I hit her with some big shots and she kept coming. Tonight I have shown that I belong at the top with the world’s elite and I’m ready to challenge for the regular title.’’

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2014/cecilia-braekhus-unifies-division/

Read more at http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2014/cecilia-braekhus-unifies-division/#4YeQmAlyFlVlP1jc.99

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

By Sauerland Promotion –

Pound-for-pound number one Cecilia Braekhus (22-0, 6 KOs) will defend her WBA, WBC and WBO Female Welterweight Titles against WBO Female Light Middleweight Champion Oxandia Castillo (12-0-2, 9 KOs) at the Nordic Fight Night in Frederikshavn on September 7. Here is the latest from the First Lady prior to the clash of champions.

Q: It´s not long until the fight, how has the training been going?

CB: “Everything is going fine. We are training twice a day at the Max-Schmeling-Gym, normal training in the morning and then sparring in the afternoon. That´s very exhausting but just what I need to be in top shape. I need to be at my very best to beat an opponent like Oxandia.”

Q: Just like you, Oxandia is an unbeaten champion. She just shocked the boxing world with a KO win over Hanna Gabriel. What do you think of her?

CB: “She is young, hungry and very strong. That´s a dangerous mixture. She has a lot of power, so I must not get hit. In boxing, one punch can change the whole fight. I have to be very concentrated for the full ten rounds. I have a lot of respect for Oxandia. The way she defeated Gabriel was impressive.”

Q: Have you changed anything in your training routine to prepare for her?

CB: “Not really. We do little things differently all the time. This time, we wanted to add a little bit of strength, so we have worked on that. But you can´t really change too much. It´s important to keep your own style and make sure you are in top shape, which I will be on September 7.”

Q: It´s not often that you face fighters who are that much younger than you. What is that like?

CB: “It´s no problem. I am super fit, so even though she is younger, she won´t be in better shape. But I see a little bit of myself in her. I remember the time when I was 18, ready to take on the entire world. I wanted to be the number one and I wanted to fight everyone. I worked very hard to become world champion and the pound-for-pound number one. I won´t let her take that away from me.”

Q: What do you think of fighting in Frederikshavn again?

CB: “I love fighting in Frederikshavn. Arena Nord is a great place for boxing. The support of the Danish fans has always been fantastic. And of course there will be hundreds of Norwegians coming over, which really means a lot to me. It´s so good to have their support. Boxing is a great sport… for the athletes, the fans on TV and especially for the fans in attendance. It´s one of the great live sporting experiences. I want to invite all the Norwegian fans to come to Frederikshavn to see me fight Castillo. It will be a dramatic and exciting night.”

Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night are available at www.arenanord.dk. Fellow Norwegians Simen Smaadal and Tim-Robin Lihaug will also be in action.

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/2013/cecilia-braekhus-interview-it-will-be-a-dramatic-and-exciting-night-of-boxing/