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| Big Fight Production Update! | ||||
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2.2.2010: Quite some recent Fight Production news slipped
through the net, but is nevertheless worthwhile to be reported.
So read on about the latest going-ons in the careers of
heavyweights Richel Hersisia and Willi Fischer, plus some
news on the Austrian arm of Fight Production involving Gogi Knezevic
and Gotthard Hinteregger as well as German welterweight Ali
Ahraoui...
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| Gogi Gives Blue Eyes For Christmas! | ||||
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29.12.2009:
Appearing in front of his Vienna fans on the second Christmas day (Dec.
26), Fight Production’s Gogi Knezevic’s present to Slovakian
opponent Marian Gabris wasn’t nearly as peaceful as the occasion might
suggest. The Slovakian journeyman was mercilessly stopped in just two
rounds, becoming ‘Lionheart’ Knezevic’ third straight knockout victim
since his setback against Frenchman Cedric Vitu earlier this year.
When
the fight at the Stadthalle (City Hall) started, Gabris surprised with
his enthusiasm to give it a go against the huge favourite. In the second
round, however, Knezevic found the key to subdue the 25-year-old
Slovakian, hurting him badly with only the second body shot he threw... |
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| Uganda Rumble Up In The Air! | ||||
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24.12.2009:
The
World Boxing Federation ‘world’ heavyweight title clash between champion
Francois ‘White Buffalo’ Botha and ring legend Evander ‘Real
Deal’ Holyfield, announced to take place in the Ugandan capital of
Kampala on Jan. 16, seems now likely to be postponed.
Fight Production manager Olaf Schroeder, whose company holds the
promotional rights on Botha together with SES Boxing, confirmed that the
financial backers are now more than three weeks overdue with the agreed
advance payment for both boxers. Consequently, the South African title
holder has not started serious sparring, awaiting further news from
Uganda... |
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| Botha vs. Holyfield January 16! | ||||
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23.11.2009:
Promoter Eddie Bazira & Baltic Pro Box Promotions, in association
with Real Deal Events, SES Boxing, Fight Production & Risum
Boxing, are proud to announce that contracts has been signed for
legendary former four-time heavyweight champion of the world Evander
Holyfield to challenge Francois Botha for the South Africans
World Boxing Federation World title on January 16 at Nelson Mandela
Memorial Stadium in Kampala, Uganda. A sell-out crowd of 80.000
spectators is expected, and details are being finalized for world-wide
Pay-Per-View distribution. Baltic Pro Box Promotions will host several
press conferences in the coming days in Kampala to kick off the
promotion of what will be the biggest fight ever in Uganda. 
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| Hersisia On The Fast Track! | ||||
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10.11.2009:
While
one heavyweight of the Fight Production stable, Germany’s Willi Fischer,
is currently in rehab and facing an uncertain situation after he had to
pull out injured against Francois Botha, the other one, Dutchman
Richel Hersisia, is in complete contrast taking the fast lane to
make up for time lost. Thus, less than three weeks after his stellar
return to the ring after a year’s out, ‘The Dutch Sonny Liston’, 31-3
(24 KO’s), surfaces back in the war zone already this coming Saturday
(Nov. 14) in his hometown Den Haag. The show, staged by Hersisia’s new
trainer Chris Van Veen, is titled “Food, Fight, Music – All Night Long”
and features the hometown favourite in a rather undemanding 6-rounder
against Frank Kary Roth of Germany... |
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| Richel Back With A Barnburner! | ||||
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28.10.2009: Proving he is miles away from being finished, Fight Production’s multi-belted Dutch heavyweight Richel Hersisia came back to warfare earlier this week on Monday (Oct. 26) at the annual Ben Bril Memorial show at Amsterdam’s famous Carré.
Rocking the house with a rousing performance against teak-tough
Ukrainian Yaroslav Zavorotny, the ‘Dutch Sonny Liston’ looked in
no way like being away from the ring for more than a year,
winning a well-deserved eight-round unanimous decision. For
Zavorotny it was only his fourth defeat in a 16-fight pro career
while the 35-year-old Hersisia improved to 31-3 (24 KO’s)... |
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| Botha's Big Bore! | ||||
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27.10.2009: South African WBF ‘world’ heavyweight champion Francois Botha did a marvelous job to promote himself and his title defence against Cuban Pedro Carrion in Dessau, Germany last Saturday, October 24. But while his personality has made ‘The White Buffalo’ a darling in Germany, Botha’s performance in what resulted in a 12-round majority draw left the fans booing.
After 12 boring rounds of little action, judges Tonio Tiberi
(Luxemburg) and Matteo Fratini (Italy) came up with a draw at
114:114 and 115:115, outvoting Jean-Marcel Nartz (Germany, who
had it 114:113 in Botha’s favour...
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| Double Trouble For Fischer And Knezevic! | ||||
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19.10.2009: It was a shocking week for sure for Fight Production, as both heavyweight Willi ‘De Ox’ Fischer and middleweight Gogi ‘Lionheart’ Knezevic had to call off their WBF ‘world’ title challenges against respective champions Francois Botha and Kreshnik Qato, scheduled for Dessau, Germany this coming Saturday, Oct. 24.
“It’s an unbelievable bad luck streak,” said manager Olaf
Schroeder, “and my heart goes out to Willi and Gogi, who are
suffering the most at the moment.” However, SES Boxing will
still go ahead with the show, with Botha now defending against
Cuban Pedro Carrion and Qato – in whose corner Schroeder is now
free to work as a cutman – will put his crown on the line
against Italian Fabio Liggieri... |
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| Ahraoui Return A Knockout! | ||||
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12.10.2009:
After
16 months out of the ring, German welterweight Ali Ahraoui on
Saturday made a winning return under the Fight Production / PunchUp
Boxing banner, stopping compatriot Torsten Roos in Darmstadt, Germany in
three rounds. With the win, the 30-year-old former decorated amateur
star from Wiesbaden, upped his pro record to 10-1-1 (7 KO’s) and has now
booked a spot on the Francois Botha v Willi Fischer WBF ‘world’
heavyweight title card in Dessau, Germany on October 24. Against Roos,
Ahraoui shined as if he never was away from the ring, but afterwards
admitted that he initially felt an adrenalin rush upon return to arms.
With trainer Tom Leidenheimer and co-manager Turhan Altunkaya in his
corner, Ahraoui controlled the action from the start with a strong lead
left and showing good timing... |
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| Knezevic Win Books A "World" Title Shot! | ||||
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7.10.2009: The impressive fourth-round stoppage of Slovakian trialhorse Joseph Sovijus last Saturday in Vienna, Austria unexpectedly turned out to be a warm-up for Fight Production’s Austro-Serb Gogi ‘Lionheart’ Knezevic, as it netted him a surprise shot at a version of a ‘world’ title in quick time.
German
promotional firm SES Boxing today confirmed that Knezevic will be the
challenger for WBF ‘world’ middleweight champion Kreshnik ‘The Eagle’
Qato on their big Dessau bill (Oct. 24) headlined by Francois Botha
versus Willi Fischer. For both Albania’s Qato and South African
heavyweight Botha it will be the second defence of their WBF crowns in
their respective divisions... |
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| "I’ll Retire Fischer!" - Francois Botha | ||||
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2.10.2009:
On October 24 in Dessau, Germany, two heavyweight oldies – both
linked to Fight Production – will share a ring to battle it out
for the WBF ‘world’ heavyweight championship (on a show promoted
by SES Boxing). One is a former IBF champion who has shared the
ring with the best his generation had to offer while the other
is a former WBO challenger who for one reason or other never
really fullfilled his vast potential. So while for Germany’s
Willi Fischer, 37-6-1 (24 KO’s), this is the last
opportunity, South Africa’s title holder Francois Botha,
47-4-2 (28 KO’s), is confident that the man from Frankfurt will
be nothing more than a stepping stone for another run at top
honours. The man called ‘The White Buffalo’ took time out from
training to answer a few questions via telephone from his home
in Durban... |
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| Buffalo Meets Ox - It’s Botha vs. Fischer! | ||||
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25.9.2009: Weeks of negotiations, talks and much speculation ended today with SES Boxing and Fight Production jointly announcing the WBF ‘world’ heavyweight championship between South African title holder Francois ‘The White Buffalo’ Botha and his German challenger Willi ‘De Ox’ Fischer for October 24 in Dessau, Germany.
The companies of partners Ulf Steinforth and Olaf Schroeder were able to
strike a deal with former IBF champion Botha after his successful WBF
defence against Timo Hoffmann to fight under their banner and recently
worked feverishly to put the i's and dots together for the Botha vs
Fischer clash in the east German town... |
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| Hersisia Returns The Hard Way! | ||||
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31.8.2009: After more than 13 months out of the ring, Dutch (and Benelux) heavyweight champion Richel Hersisia, 30-3 (24 KO’s), returns to boxing with a rare appearance in his home country when he climbs through the ropes again on Oct. 26 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
A lot
happened since the 35-year-old was upset by former WBO champion Ray
Mercer in September 2008 in a six-rounder in Sweden...
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| Attila Gets Close Only! | ||||
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7.8.2009:
WBF African Coordinator Howard Goldberg described the effort of
Fight Production’s Attila ‘The Viper’ Kovacs as
“outstanding” – but still it wasn’t enough to overcome unbeaten
former WBF welterweight champion Bongani ‘Cyclone’ Mwelase in
their battle for the vacant WBF ‘world’ superwelterweight crown
on August 7 in Bloemfontain, South Africa.
After 12 exciting rounds the officials scorecards read 116:111 (Siya
Vabaza), 115:112 (Allen Matikane) and 117:111 (Simphiwe Mbini),
all in favour of the now two-weight WBF champion Mwelase.
Goldberg, who acted as the supervisor and is an experienced
judge himself, later said: “By scoring six points in favour of
Mwelase, Mbini was way out. I myself had Kovacs behind, too, but
by one point only.” |
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| Kovacs & Mwelase Ready To Battle It Out For WBF Crown! | ||||
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7.8.2009:
Both Fight Production’s Attila Kovacs (69,2 kg) and co-challenger
Bongani Mwelase (69,7 kg) yesterday afternoon made the weight for their
WBF ‘world’ superwelterweight title clash tonight in Bloemfontain, South
Africa. This despite rumours that the South African, who lost his WBF
‘world’ welterweight title on the scales last year, had to battle hard
to even get inside the superwelter limit.
Hungarian Kovacs, who arrived in South Africa already last Sunday with
his trainer Istvan Levai after a 26-hour journey, feels well prepared
and adjusted, reports Zoltan Petranyi, who accompanies the fighter on
behalf of manager Olaf Schroeder, who had commitments in Europe... |
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| Ahraoui Returns On Joint Venture! | ||||
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6.8.2009: Turhan Altunkaya’s PunchUp Promotion and Olaf
Schroeder’s Fight Production have teamed up to jointly manage the career
of three-time German amateur champion Ali Ahraoui and aim to have
their new client back in the ring as soon as possible.
Welterweight Ahraoui, from Wiesbaden, hasn’t seen action in over a year
now, and in fact only had three fights since his only professional loss
in 2005 cost him his contract with Hamburg-based Spotlight Boxing.
However, his amateur achievements seemed to indicate a successful pro
career if nothing else...
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| The "White Buffalo" Makes Germany His Base! | ||||
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27.7.2009: After South Africa's Francois Botha eliminated
hometown hero Timo Hoffmann from the heavyweight race on points last May
in Magdeburg, in the process defending his WBF world title, he now
readies himself for another run at the world's best heavies.
"I can still shake up the heavyweight picture. Beware, the White
Buffalo is roaming again," said Botha after agreeing terms with German
promotional company SES Boxing and their partner Fight Production last
week for further fights in Germany...
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| Kovacs Goes For Second ‘World’ Title! | ||||
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23.7.2009: Fight Production’s former IBO champion Attila ‘The Viper’
Kovacs aims to win his second ‘world’ title of sorts when he battles
South Africa’s unbeaten Bongani Mwelase for the vacant World Boxing
Foundation (WBF) superwelterweight crown on August 7 in Bloemfontain,
South Africa. The 35-year-old Hungarian from Györ reigned as IBO titlist
from 2006 to early 2008, prior to signing for Olaf Schroeder’s German
company and never lost that title in the ring.
His huge experience in compiling a 25-3 (17 KO’s) record over a
seven-year career should more than make up for having to fight in his
co-challenger’s country... |
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