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The meeting was held on neutral ground in Austria, so as not to alert anyone in the boxing scene, but it was all it took to convince the parties of each other – and thus top-rated IBO ‘world’ superwelterweight champion Attila ‘The Viper’ Kovacs, 21-1 (14 KO’s), put pen to paper, in this case on a multi-year managerial agreement with German manager Olaf Schroeder’s company Fight Production. The 33-year-old Hungarian favourite becomes the latest star addition for the German boxing stable, which has fighters from a variety of European countries on its books.
Kovacs, from the city of Györ, began his professional campaign in 2002 with an abroad win in Macedonia. He suffered his only defeat, on points over six, in his third pro fight, when brought into the opponent’s corner against 11-2 Frenchman Francois Bastient. But Kovacs persisted despite the early hardships, never again to this day losing in the ring. That earned him a contract in 2004 with Hungary’s at that time biggest promoter Felix Racz and the two never looked back in their relationship. The ‘Viper’ Kovacs spat poison towards every opponent and along the way collected the IBF (interim version) and WBA Intercontinental titles, EBA European and finally the IBO ‘world’ crown. A seven-round thrashing of formerly world-class Frenchman and murderous puncher Mamadou Thiam in 2005 stands out among Kovacs’ impressive ledger. However, Attila’s career somewhat slowed down when promoter Felix Racz retired from boxing at the end of 2006. Fighting just twice this year, he stopped Ruben Francisco Silva Diaz, of Uruguay, and Robert Frazier in his first IBO defence.
Now Kovacs has decided to try to jump start again his buzzing career with manager Olaf Schroeder, who not by chance was a close associate of Racz since 1992 and is certainly happy with his latest signing: “I am very excited to work with Attila, this is a big challenge for Fight Production and we look forward to a great ride. Attila belongs to the 15 best superwelterweights in the world and we will be shooting for the stars!”
Interestingly, Fight Production has a history with Hungary and its first boxer from the country, Mihaly Kotai, is curiously linked with new signing Attila Kovacs. Kotai turned professional with Fight Production in 2000 and up until their contract ran out in 2005, Schroeder had guided him to an impressive 32-1 record, which included winning the WBC International and WBF ‘world’ superwelterweight belts. Kotai made six successful WBF defences and in his final fight for Fight Production added the IBO crown to his collection. The ‘Tornado’, as Kotai was called, never again won a fight after going his own way, calling it a career after just three more outings (0-2-1). In his ultimate fight, Kotai lost his IBO title (having relinquished the WBF version) to Steve Conway, however, the Englishman could not enjoy his fame for long, because in his very next fight, he again lost the IBO belt to – Attila Kovacs! Talk about going full circle…
“I am very happy with this and very confident. Actually, my friend and former promoter Felix Racz has recommanded Olaf to me and I know Olaf has proved that he can deliver things for fighters. I just can’t wait to get in the ring again, no matter against whom. I’m in my prime and ready for anybody!”, said Kovacs.
