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For his third consecutive IBF title fight, reigning champion Steve Cunningham will put his crown at risk in Germany as the American faces the challenge of Cuban southpaw Yoan Pablo Hernandez at Jahnsportforum in Neubrandenburg on Saturday night.
35 year old Cunningham, 24-2 (12), is seeking to make the second defense of his second reign as IBF king as the Philadelphia stylist is coming off a 12 round points verdict over Enad Licina in February.
26 year old Hernandez, 24-1 (13), rebounded from a stoppage loss to big-punching former WBC champion Wayne Braithwaite in 2008, reeling off ten straight victories and winning the IBF Intercontinental strap by decisioning Licina in 2009 before knocking out Steve Herelius in the seventh to capture the Interim WBA title this past February.
With seven world title bouts and two world title eliminators on his resume, Cunningham has far more big fight experience than Hernandez while the challenger has youth and perhaps momentum on his side, along with home advantage as Hernandez has been based in Germany for his entire six year pro career.
Cunningham, however, is the more skilled boxer, with faster hands and a busier style than the awkward and sporadic Hernandez and these factors will make it difficult for Hernandez to win this bout.
The challenger’s best bet is to try and take some of Cunningham’s confidence away with an effective countering strategy and then put pressure on the American but in order to do that successfully, Hernandez will have to mount a much better performance than he has produced this far in his pro career.
The undercard sees the vacant European middleweight title up for grabs with Sebastian Sylvester, who held the belt from 2005-2206 and 2007-2008 before winning the IBF crown in 2010, squaring up against undefeated Polish southpaw Grzegorz Proska, 25-0 (18).
Sylvester, 34-4-1 (16), is making his first appearance since losing the IBF to Daniel Geale by split decision in May and is favored to defeat the far less experienced Proska, who is the European Union titlist.
Another ex-world champ is on the bill as former IBF light heavyweight strapholder Gregory Campillo, 21-3 (8), faces IBF Intercontinental titlist Karo Murat, 24-1 (14), in an IBF title eliminator, which will also be for Murat’s current belt.
This contest is a rematch to the pair’s 2008 bout in which Murat retained his European super middleweight bauble by majority decision.
Since that time, against notable opponents, Campillo defeated Hugo Hernan Garay, Lolenga Mock and Beibut Sumenov while losing to Shumenov in a close rematch and Murat stopped Crisitian Savanai and Otis Griffin while losing by stoppage to Nathan Cleverly.
Campillo has had the better results in the last three years but this rematch against Murat could go either way in a true 50-50 contest.
