(SEPT 8) Last night at the
Saarlandhalle in Saarbruecken, Germany, the WBF Convention came
to a conclusion with a big WBF championship quadruple-header
presented by local promoters DOG Eventboxing.
In front of a good crowd at the traditional venue, Berlin-based
Cameroonian Bernard Donfack captured the vacant WBF
International Light Heavyweight title by fourth round technical
knockout over Said Mbelwa from Tanzania in the evening’s first
championship bout.
Mbelwa clearly came to fight his chance, but after an even first
round, a fired-up Donfack scored knock-downs in rounds two and
three, before a third one in round four prompted the referee to
wave the fight off, much to the displeasure of Mbelwa.
With the victory the new champion improved his record to 17-11-3
(9), while Mbelwa travels back to Dar Es Salaam with a 23-13-4
(15) ledger.
Only a month after winning the title, WBF Womens World Light
Welterweight Champion Rola El Halabi made a successful first
defence by seeing off previously undefeated challenger Sopo
Putkaradze from Georgia.
The reigning champion dominated the fight from the first bell,
and knocked Putkaradze down in round one and two. But the game
Georgian managed to hang on until the sixth, where she was
rescued on her feet after taking many clean shots.
El Halabi is now 13-1 (7) since turning pro in 2007, and
20-year-old Putkaradze loses for the first time and drops to
6-1-2 (1).
Already a WBF titlist, going in as the Intercontinental
Flyweight Champion, undefeated Raja Amasheh moved up in weight
to win the vacant WBF Women's World Super Flyweight title by
defeating tough co-challenger Eva Voraberger from Austria.
Both boxers gave their all through ten entertaining rounds, but
Amasheh proved to be the better of the two in most rounds and in
the end she was awarded a well-deserved unanimous decision by
scores of 96-94, 97-94 and 98-92.
The new world champion from Karlsruhe improved her impressive
record to 16-0-1 (4). Voraberger falls to 16-3 (8), losing for
the first time in four years and after fifteen straight
victories.
In the main event, local hero Juergen Doberstein from nearby St.
Ingbert, passed his biggest test to date when he successfully
defended the WBF Intercontinental Super Middleweight crown
against former WBF World Champion William Gare of South Africa.
In what turned out to be a very entertaining fight, the game
challenger had some success with hard right hands that seemed to
wobble Doberstein a few times, but the champion always came back
strong.
In round ten Doberstein connected with a beautiful left-right
combination which send Gare flat on his back, but the
experienced South African managed to pull himself up at the last
second and remarkably got through the last two rounds.
After the final bell ended round twelve, it was clear that
Dobersten, now 15-1-1 (4), had passed his big test with flying
colours, and he will have learned a lot from the questions asked
by the old professor Gare, 27-17 (5). The scores were 118 – 109,
119-107 and 120-108.
In attendance at the Saarlandhalle were convention guest of
honour, and former World Light Heavyweight Champion, Donny
Lalonde, as well as WBF Champions Anne Sophie Mathis, Anne
Sophie Da Costa, Gogi Knezevic, Lucia Morelli and Nikki Adler,
among others.