Boxing News Boxing News
WBO super middle titlist Karoly Balzsay was well on his way to outboxing challenger Robert Stieglitz last night at Syma Sport and Leisure Center in Budapest, Hungary when disaster struck.
That unlucky occurrence took the form of a bad laceration on the champion’s forehead in the early part of the ninth frame, changing the entire complexion of the bout.
Gone were Balzsay’s edge in reflexes and coordination and Stieglitz knew it. The Russian veteran put his Hungarian foe under a wave of pressure and the same punches that Balzsay had previously slipped were now landing flush.
Balzsay got through the remainder of the ninth but rest between rounds didn’t improve things for the champion, who was battered across the ring so badly in the tenth that his corner refused to allow him to answer the bell for the 11th frame.
Seasoned Stieglitz had wisely conserved his energy for the later rounds and that reserve allowed him to step on the gas to hammer the reeling Balzsay.
After two failed IBF title bids, Stieglitz is now the WBO super middle champ, improving to 35-2 (21), and likely heading to a succession of defenses in Germany.
Balzsay drops to 21-1 (15), losing for the first time in a five year pro career.
In light heavyweight action at Budapest, southpaw Juergen Braehmer, 33-2 (27), also knocked out his opponent in the 11th, seeing off previously unbeaten Aleksy Kuziemski, 17-1 (4), to win the Interim WBO belt.
Braehmer came into the clash as the reigning European champion and in the near future could get a crack at longstanding full WBO titlist Zsolt Erdei.
