Boxing In Europe: Weekend Results

Last night on a fight card at Konig Palast in Krefeld, Germany, Felix Sturm and Karoly Balzsay retained their world title belts by stoppage.

As expected, WBA Middleweight Champ Sturm, 32-2-1 (14), wasn’t pushed hard by his inexperienced challenger, Japan’s Koji Sato, 14-1 (13), and was able to control the bout with his superb jab.

By the seventh round, Sato, the reigning OPBF titlist, was cut over both eyes and the clash was stopped by his corner at 2:46 of the frame.

WBO Super Middle Champ Balzsay, 21-0 (15), faced a far more seasoned foe, ex-WBA Middle beltholder Maselino Masoe, 29-6 (27).

Masoe was once a very dangerous fighter but at 42 years of age, he just didn’t have enough steam left to compete with the much younger and bigger Balzsay and was stopped in the eleventh round in a one-sided clash.

On the undercard, promising Kazak middleweight prospect Gennady Golovkin, 16-0 (13), knocked out Anthony Greenridge, 13-3-1 (5), of America in the fifth round.

On Friday at the Atmosphere Nightclub in St. Petersburg, Russia, local middleweight Gennady Martirosyan, 17-1 (6), retained the PABA Middleweight title with a ten round UD against Croatia’s former EBU-EE beltholder Vedran Akrap, 12-7 (6).

At Cirque d’Hiver in Paris on Thursday, Gregory Tony, 10-0 (9), won the vacant French Heavyweight title with a ten round unanimous decision over Marouan Larouiche, 5-2 (3).

On the undercard, former European Union Light Middle Champ Jimmy Colas, 26-6 (11), lost to an opponent he’d previously defeated, three-time French title challenger Damien Bertu, 22-4-1 (7), on points in an eight rounder.

Rounding out the bill, two-time European Light Middleweight title challenger and former French Champion Hussein Bayram, 33-3 (16), won his sixth bout in a row by a dramatic eighth and final round TKO of former French Light Welter titlist Ismael El Massoudi, 29-3 (12).