Stieglitz: Groves first, then Abraham! Pulev: European title first, then the Klitschkos?
Three top highlights at Erfurt’s night of boxing: Boxing fans will not only be looking forward to the WBO cruiserweight world championship between Marco “Captain” Huck (34-2, 25 KOs) and Ola Afolabi (19-2-3, 9 KOs) but also to two other world-class title bouts.
Robert Stieglitz (41-2, 23 KOs) will defend his WBO super-middleweight belt against George Groves (14-0, 11 KOs). The heavyweights Kubrat Pulev (15-0, 7 KOs) and Alexander Dimitrenko (32-1, 21 KOs) will fight it out for the vacant European title.
Especially the fight for the European heavyweight crown promises to be very interesting. Therefore both fighters are extremely eager to step into the ring. “The fight against Alexander Dimitrenko is going to be the toughest of my career to this point,” says the 30-year-old Pulev. And it seems that the prodigy of coach Otto Ramin might be correct with his prediction.
The former European champion is currently number two in the WBO rankings. Although Pulev is completely focusing on his upcoming task with Dimitrenko, he still announced: “First I want to be the champion of Europe. After that I will start thinking about which Klitschko I want to fight next.”
The possibility of a shot against one of the Klitschko brothers is something Dimitrenko has not even thought about: “The only thing on my mind is the fight for the European title in Erfurt. I do not care about what other people are saying. I am taking one step after the other.”
The 29-year-old also got himself a new coach in the Brit Scott Welch, to ensure that he will be victorious against Pulev. “We are currently preparing in Aschaffenburg,” admitted the former European champion. “Due to an injury I had to vacate my title. Now I am completely fine and I want to be the champion of Europe once more.”
The Brit George Groves is even aiming for a world title. Unfortunately the 24-year-old prodigy of coach Adam Booth could not attend the press conference in Erfurt. Nevertheless the current WBO super-middleweight world champion Robert Stieglitz is not taking his opponent lightly.
“He is a good guy – young and hungry for success. But he hasn’t been in as many fights as I have. I believe that my experience is going to make the difference and give me the advantage for this bout,” according to the 32-year-old.
SES coach Dirk Dzemski is also expecting a victory: “Robert has held his title for three years now. He has every reason to be optimistic when he steps into the ring.”
A title defense against Arthur Abraham is next on the cards. Frederick Ness, general manager of Sauerland Event: “We are happy that Robert Stieglitz is part of the fight card in Erfurt. He is a great athlete. If he should win against Groves, we can all look forward to an all German showdown versus Arthur.”
