Germany’s Erik Pfeifer, a two-time AIBA World Championship bronze medallist, was last night crowned the first Super Heavyweight (91+ kg) Champion in the AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) Inaugural Title Match in Baku, Azerbaijan.
After eight rounds, the final scorecards read 78:74 across the board in favour of Pfeifer against his opponent, Morocco’s Mohammed Arjaoui. The German becomes the first APB Inaugural Titleholder, as well as the first German Super heavyweight World Champion since Max Schmeling.
Both Pfeifer and Arjaoui had won all three of their preliminary bouts coming into the Inaugural Title Match at Baku’s Sarhadchi Complex.
Pfeifer started the contest well, his punches landing more sharply and accurately than his African opponent. Later, Pfeifer’s extra energy and experience saw him outclass his opponent in the final two rounds, as he pulled away on points.
APB Champion Erik Pfeifer
In order to officially qualify to compete at Rio 2016, Pfeifer must defend his title in the APB Cycle 1 Title Bout. Doing so, he will automatically be awarded an Olympic quota place as both contenders, Champion and Challenger, earn Olympic quota places. Cycle 1 is scheduled to start in March 2015.
Two more APB Inaugural Title Matches take place this week-end:
Lausanne, 22 Jan 2015 – AIBA Pro Boxing has announced that the APB Inaugural Title Events of the first three weight categories will take place on 23 and 24 January 2015 in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Istanbul, Turkey, according to the match schedule below.
SUPER HEAVY 91+ KG – FRIDAY, 23 JANUARY (19:30 GMT+4)
Location: Baku – Venue: Sarhadchi Complex
The two undefeated APB Super Heavyweights (91+ kg), Mohammed Arjaoui (MAR) and Erik Pfeifer (GER) will clash in Baku with the objective of winning the APB Inaugural Title Belt.
Pfeifer is a two-time AIBA World Championship bronze medalist, and started his APB career off with a dominant victory over Egypt’s Ahmed Samir. He followed that up in week two with a close points win over France’s Tony Yoka, and the German secured his part in the Inaugural Title Match during the Matches for Champions series, when he stopped Romanian Mihai Nistor in round three of the contest.
Mohammed Arjaoui also boasts an unblemished 3-0 APB record, and he began with a close victory over Ukrainian Sergiy Verveyko in week one. One win turned into two as he won on points against Mihai Nistor, and the Olympian made sure of his place in the title picture during week three as he defeated Tony Yoka on points.
APB “Inaugural Title Match” Middle (75 Kg) Weight In (Istanbul)
Match schedule:
19:30: Ahmed SAMIR (EGY) W.O. vs Sergiy VERVEYKO (UKR) (Exhibition Match)
20:00: Tony YOKA (FRA) vs Mihai NISTOR (ROM)
20:30: Magomedrasul MEDZHIDOV (AZE) vs Magomed OMAROV (RUS)
21:00: Mohammed ARJAOUI (MAR) vs Erik PFEIFER (GER) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
MIDDLE 75 KG – FRIDAY, 23 JANUARY (21:00 GMT+2)
Location: Istanbul – Venue: Caferaga Spor Salonu
Local hero Adem Kilicci (TUR) will fight to offer his fans the APB Inaugural Title Belt this Friday. Kilicci has been one of the most impressive APB boxers so far in the competition. With an unblemished 3-0 record, he fought against Kenya’s Nickson Abaka, Hosam Abdin (EGY) and also Artem Chebotarev (RUS) his opponent for the Title.
Artem Chebotarev opened his account with a disqualification win against Ecuador’s Marlo Delgado, and then lost in week two against Kilicci. The Russian earned his ticket for the final by defeating Dmytro Mitrofanov in the Matches for Champions in a close match.
Match schedule:
21:00: Marlo DELGADO (ECU) vs Nickson ABAKA (KEN)
21:30: Hosam ABDIN (EGY) vs Dmytro MYTROFANOV (UKR)
22:00: Michel TAVARES (FRA) vs Bogdan JURATONI (ROM)
22:30: Adem KILICCI (TUR) vs Artem CHEBOTAREV (RUS) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
APB “Inaugural Title Match” Middle (75 Kg) Weight In (Istanbul)
WELTER 69 KG – SATURDAY, 24 JANUARY (19:30 GMT+4)
Location: Baku – Venue: Sarhadchi Complex
The APB Welter Inaugural Title Match will see the battle between Onur Sipal (TUR) and Rayton Okwiri (KEN).
2008 Beijing Olympian Onur Sipal is one of Turkey’s most promising boxing talents, and the 25-year-old has won all three of his APB matches so far against Eimantas Stanionis (LTU), Okwiri and Denys Lazarev (UKR).
In the first week of the competition, the Kenyan Rayton Okwiri shocked the world by knocking out one of the favourites for Welterweight glory, Austria’s Marcos Nader in round two of their fight. After his loss to Sipal in November, Kenya’s superstar rebounded magnificently to quality for the title bout when he won five of the six rounds against Russia’s Olympic bronze medalist Andrey Zamkovoy in December.
Match schedule:
19:30: Gyula KATE (HUN) vs Marcos NADER (AUT)
20:00: Denys LAZAREV (UKR) vs Andrei ZAMKOVOY (RUS)
20:30: Eimantas STANIONIS (LTU) vs Tamerlan ABDULLAYEV (AZE)
21:00: Onur SIPAL (TUR) vs Rayton OKWIRI (KEN) (APB Inaugural Title Match)
An exciting group of middleweights will make up the AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) 75kg category, with a fantastic field of fighters including international superstars and continental conquerors each looking to grasp that all important Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification place.
Amongst the squadron of elite athletes striving to book their tickets to the Brazilian capital is rugged Romanian and 2011 World Boxing Championships bronze medalist Bogdan Juratoni, who has his sights firmly set on becoming the first ever APB World Champion in the middleweight category.
Juratoni, who also won silver in the 2013 European Boxing Championships in Minsk, said: “AIBA Pro Boxing PB is definitely a good thing. You can be professional at the same time as retaining your Olympic eligibility, so it’s a positive step for the sport.
“I’m ready to compete and my aim is to be the first middleweight World Champion in APB. I was at the London 2012 Olympic Games and it was an incredible experience. For that reason I want to go to Rio, and I believe that APB provides a great opportunity for me to qualify.”
AIBA Pro Boxing PB, photo credit AIBA
Lining up alongside Juratoni in the competition is multi-decorated Turk Adem Kilicci. Kilicci has won a host of medals in international tournaments in a glittering boxing career, including the bronze medal in the 2007 World Boxing Championships and gold in the 2013 Mediterranean Games.
French idol and World Series of Boxing (WSB) veteran Michel ‘Le Cubain’ Tavares and Egyptian 2007 All-Africa Games bronze medalist Hosam Abdin are also in the middleweight mix, together with rangy Russian Artem Chebotarev who won the gold medal in the European Boxing Championships in 2010.
Completing the 75kg group are German WSB star Xhek Paskali, 2013 Summer Universiade gold medalist Dmytro Mytrofanov from Ukraine and London 2012 Olympian from Ecuador Marlo Delgado who concludes the pack of APB boxers eager to make their quest for qualification a successful one.
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