It’s just one more day to go to arena’s “Champion’s Night” in Berlin’s Estrel Convention Center featuring 4 international title fights with the big main event between “Black Panther” Juan Carlos Gomez and “The Atomic Bull” Oliver McCall. Within the last days before the fight there have been some changes on the undercard. Two unbeaten arena-stars had to pull out of their fights because of injuries suffered in the last week of sparring. “Mini-Tyson” Selcuk Aydin (welterweight) and Konstantin Airich (heavyweight) won’t have a chance to add victories to their “clean slate”-records..
Instead Berlin’s box-fans have the chance to see one of arena’s most exciting athletes when Cuban Olympic gold medallist Yuriorkis Gamboa (5-0-0) faces strong Ethiopian Samuel Kebede (25-1-0).
Öner: “This is another hard test for Gamboa. If he beats Kebede and wins his US-debut in Miami as well he should get ranked in the Top 15 by all sanctioning bodies after only 7 professional fights. I don’t know whether anybody has ever made it to the top that fast. He might get a shot for the World title after 10 or 12 fights. Some people think that we should slow down a little. But you can’t slow down Gamboa. He’s a natural born boxer.”
Ahmet Öner will also send his second Olympic gold medallist into the ring; Heavyweight sensation Odlanier Solis faces experienced Jeremy Bates (USA).
German heavyweight prospect Steffen Kretschmann takes on “T-Rex” Corey Sanders (USA); no easy job for “Kretsche” as Sanders stopped World Champion Oleg Maskaev five years ago in round 8.
Former European heavyweight champion Sinan Samil Sam (Turkey) wants to clear his name from losing to Oliver McCall in his hometown Ankara on June 16th by beating Croatia’s Ivica Perkovic in a WBC Mediterranean championship bout.
After WBC international middleweight champion Mahir “Lion” Oral broke his right hand and had to pull out of his title defence against former champ Domenico Spada, Mahir’s friend Alpaslan Agüzüm will try to keep his vacant title in the arena gym.
Italy’s former World Champion Silvio Branco and No. 4 ranked Brazilian Peter Venancio fight for the vacant WBC international light heavyweight championship.
Also on the card: young Polish prospect Krysztof Cieslak who faces Latvia’s Juris Ivanovs in his second pro-fight and Macedonian heavyweight Goran Gogic (17-3-2) who takes on Özcan Cetinkaya (10-3-0) from Turkey.
The show is almost sold out. Only very few tickets will be available at the ticket counter in Estrel Convention Center.
McCall vs Gomez II Press Conference Video And Photos
Two years ago Juan Carlos Gomez clearly decisioned Oliver McCall in Düsseldorf, Germany. After the fight the Cuban tested positive on cocaine; the bout was declared a no-contest. This Friday Gomez and McCall clash again for the WBC International Championship in Berlin’s Estrel Convention Center. Although there were some disagreements within the last days, “The Black Panther” and “The Atomic Bull” spoke gently of each other at the press conference in “CineStar” cinema at Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz.
Oliver McCall: “Our first fight was like a war without knowing you enemy. I didn’t know Gomez and wasn’t prepared for the fight. But I won’t make the same mistake again. I will not underestimate Juan Carlos Gomez this time. He’s a great champion.
Video: Oliver McCall talks about the Gomez fight, Holyfield, Klitschko & More:
McCall: ” I did a lot of video studies and I know how to beat him. This is a redemption fight to me. It’s the first time I get the chance to face somebody I have lost to in a re-match. Also I see the fight as redemption for my break-down loss against Lennox Lewis in 1997. I never fully compensated that loss. As I said before, Gomez is a great champion. I don’t know how this fight will end. Of course, I will try to knock him out. Still I say: may the best man win!”
Juan Carlos Gomez: „I am well prepared for the fight. I believe that it will be a great battle. Oliver McCall is a great fighter and I thank him for his words. We may talk light friends right now. But we won’t be friends when we step into the ring. By the time we enter the ring ‘It’s showtime’. This is most probably the last chance for me to earn a shot at the World Heavyweight Championship. I know that and I will not blow this chance. McCall might be punching harder than me but I am definitely the better boxer. I will outbox him. I don’t know whether I got what it takes to knock him out but I will definitely beat McCall.”
The winner of the bout between WBC ranked No. 2 (McCall) and No. 4 (Gomez) is most likely to become a shot at the World Championship within next year. Both men were in complete agreement regarding their most favourite opponents for a title shot. McCall: “Both Klitschkos are great boxers. I would love to step into the ring with one of them to proof that I am the best fighter of my generation.” Gomez: “I want to get into the ring with the Kltischkos as well – because I can earn lots of money in fights with them!”
The undercard of Gomez vs. McCall features Cuban heavyweight sensation Odlanier Solis who is focussed on becoming undisputed champion of the world one day: “Of course, it must be my goal to win all the titles. But first of all I have to proceed my way to the top in the world rankings to earn my shots at the championships.”
Also on the card in Berlin: former European heavyweight champion Sinan Samil Sam (who faces Croatia’s Ivica Perkovic in a fight for the WBC Meditarranean Championship), middleweight Alpaslan Agüzüm (who steps into the ring with Italian “Volcano” Domenico Spada for the WBC International Championship) and former WBA Light Heavyweight Champion “Il Barbaro” Silvio Branco (who faces Peter Venancio for the WBC International Championship).
Only very few tickets for the show are available on ticket-hotline +49-30-6831 6831, at CTS eventim or on www.ticketonline.com.
photos © East Side Boxing
