Countdown for ARENA's first world title fight

On March 21st WBC world heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko will defend his title against no. 1 contender Juan Carlos Gomez at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany. The "Black Panther" will be the first ARENA fighter to take a shot at winning a world championship.

Former WBC cruiserweight title holder Gomez had to wait a long time before finally getting the chance to fight for the heavy belt. On his way to the title he outboxed former champ Oliver McCall and dangerous Ukrainian power-puncher Vladimir Virchis to become the mandatory challenger.

Vitali Klitschko and his management tried all they could to avoid the slick and fast handed southpaw as opponent - but the WBC forced their champ to face the no. 1 contender.

"Preparations are going extremely well", states Gomez. "I have never been this fired up for a fight. This is my big chance - and probably my last chance as well. I know that I will do all it takes to dethrone Vitali and become the first ever Cuban heavyweight champion of the world."

Selcuk Aydin destroys Luis Hernandez in 2:32 minutes!

Graciano Rocchigiani's first show as trainer for ARENA Box-Promotion was a complete success. "Mini-Tyson" Selcuk Aydin and "Dancing Destroyer" Herbie Hide scored wins in front of a sold-out crowd in Cuxhaven (Germany) Friday night.

WBC international welterweight champion Selcuk Aydin defended his title by an impressive first round annihilation of experienced contender Luis Hernandez from Ecuador. Hernandez who prepared for the fight at Miguel Cotto's training camp in Puerto Rico began strong while Aydin waited for his chance. When he saw an opening ARENA's "Mini-Tyson" chopped down "Morochito" Hernandez with some vicious hooks. Referee Guido Cavalleri stopped the fight after the second knockdown. Time was 2:32 minutes.

"This was a very dominant performance by Selcuk", stated promoter Ahmet Öner. "He showed that he is a real powerpuncher and ready for the next step. I think he will be ready to challenge WBC champion Andre Berto very soon."
"I am very proud to hold the WBC international champion title", added Aydin. "And I would simply love to ‘upgrade' it to the world famous Big Green Belt and follow the tradition of great WBC champions. Also, I want to thank my promoter Ahmet Öner for putting me into the hands of Graciano Rocchigiani. He has been a great champion and he is a perfect coach for me."

Herbie Hide outclasses Sandro Siproshvili

Former two-time world heavyweight champion Herbie Hide scored a one-sided unanimous decision win over Sandro Siproshvili from Georgia. "The Dancing Destroyer" is scheduled to fight Matt Godfrey in a WBC Final Elimination bout next. The fight will most probably take place in May in Saarbrücken (Germany).
"I did what I had to do", said Hide. "Rocky told me to stay focused and fight with discipline. It was also good to fight some rounds before the Eliminator comes up. I am ready for Godfrey. He won't stop me - I will be champion of the world again!"

"I am very happy with the performance of the boys", said coach Rocchigiani. "I think Herbie hasn't been hit once and Selcuk just showed great determination, power and timing. I am sure that both of them will be world champions soon."

More results from Cuxhaven:
Heavyweight, 10 rounds: Ondrej Pala beats Konstantin Airich by majority decision (99:92, 96:94, 95:95)
Cruiserweight, 6 rounds: Ivica Bacurin beats Tino Groß by unanimous decision (58:56, 58:56, 58:57)
Super Middleweight, 8 rounds: Christian Pawlak beats Andrey Tylilyuk by t.k.o. in the 6th (0:47)
Super Middleweight, 6 rounds: Hamid Rahimi beats Thomas Hengstberger by unanimous decision
Super Welterweight, 4 rounds: Artur Kalataryan beats Alexander Lykov by t.k.o. in the 3rd (2:54)

The heavyweight clash between rising German star Steffen Kretschmann and Russia's Denis Bakhtov had to be postponed due to an inner ear injury Kretschmann suffered in the last days of sparring.

Gamboa stops Estrada after only 35 seconds

Prescott and Lara victorious as well

Yuriorkis Gamboa did it again. ARENA's fast rising featherweight superstar scored his next impressive k.o. win stopping veteran Walter Estrada in only 35 seconds. "El Ciclon" lived up to his name simply blowing away his opponent with one of his overwhelming combinations. Gamboa went to the body with his left and followed up with a stunning right to the head that put Estrada straight to the campus.

It was Gamboa's 14th win in as many pro-fights and his 12th stoppage. "El Ciclon" is lined up to fight for his first world championship next. "We will do his first title fight in April", states promoter Ahmet Öner. "Yuri once more proved that he is ready to go for gold. He is probably the fastest fighter in the world today. He got power and the absolute will to become world champion. I don't see anybody who could stop him on his way."

In the main event of ARENA's ESPN "Friday Night Fights" show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Breidis Prescott scored a 10th round disqualification win over Humberto Toledo. Prescott dominated his opponent over the full distance. The fight was stopped after 1:58 minute of the final round when Toledo bit Prescott in the shoulder.

On the undercard impressive Cuban junior middleweight contender Erislandy Lara scored his second 1st round stoppage in a row against previously unbeaten Keith Gross. Lara sent his opponent to the canvas with a stunning left only 35 seconds into the fight. After the second knockdown an 1:09 minute the referee stopped the uneven matchup.