17.2.2007: In just his twelfth professional fight, Danish middleweight prospect Fawaz Nasir (now 10-1, 1 N-C) gave German hope Sebastian Zbik (now 17-0) the fight of his life only to get the short end of a close 115-114, 115-113, 116-112 decision on Friday night (16.2) at the Fight Night Arena in Cologne. The bout was for the vacant WBO Intercontinental title, promoted by Spotlight Boxing and broadcasted live throughout Germany on PRO7 television.

In a tactical and technical, yet entertaining, affair, Nasir and Zbik fought on very even terms for the entire bout, with Nasir scoring with the cleaner punches and Zbik being a little bit busier. Neither of the two prospects seemed seriously hurt in the fight, but while Zbik got the nod on the judges’ scorecards he looked the worse for wear at the conclusion of the bout. Nasir continuously connected with his jab, but it seemed as if he could have followed up more with combinations than he did. At the same time Zbik attacked in rushes, which brought cheers from the crowd and might have earned him the close rounds.

“Fighting in Germany against a German, I guess we can’t expect to win a close fight like this, and we genuinely want to congratulate Zbik on his victory. However, Fawaz pulled a muscle in his right shoulder already in the third round, so I have no doubt that he could have done even better if he had not been injured. Don’t get me wrong; this is not an excuse for the loss, because we don’t want to take anything away from Zbik. He is a fine fighter, and deserve all the success in the world”, says Henrik Risum who co-manages Nasir with Fight Productions Olaf Schroeder.

Nasir will now take a deserved rest, get his shoulder back to normal, and then hope to return later this spring or early summer. This was the Danes first 12-rounder after having only boxed six rounds previously, so a lot of valuable experience has been gathered, and co-manager Schroeder feels a step towards bigger things was made in Cologne:

“In light of everything, we can only be happy with Fawaz´ performance, and we would like to thank Spotlight Boxing for the opportunity. Several people I spoke to after the fight had Fawaz winning, and weather he should have gotten the victory or not, I am sure we haven’t seen the last of Fawaz Nasir in German boxing rings…”