Coming back after a dangerous leg injury, 2004 Athens super heavyweight gold medalist and current IBF mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (17-0, 12 KOs) scored a hard-fought ten-round unanimous decision over American Olympian Jason Estrada (15-2, 3 KOs) by scores 99-94, 98-92 and 97-93 on Saturday night at the Burg-Wächter Castello in Düsseldorf, Germany. Estrada took the first round with his speedy jab and several well-placed combinations on the inside. Since round two, Povetkin started to find a path for his strong left hook over Estrada’s block and did it well. Round three was huge for Povetkin who scored several times with the lead left and did well on the inside pressing the American. Rounds four through six were pretty even with Estrada being less precise but more successful on the defensive while the Russian fighter scored occasionally but wasn’t been able to keep Estrada at bay. However, it was Povetkin who was more active and scored more blows than his opponent. In round seven, Povetkin finally began to dominate Estrada delivering numerous punches in his usual speedy style while Estrada looked fatigued and preferred to tie up Povetkin on the inside. Round eight was another huge round for Povetkin. Estrada did his best to avoid more punishment in the ninth stanza but in round ten Povetkin rocked Estrada with his trademark combinations several times and was very close to putting him down. The American fighter was able to survive till the final bell only to see himself losing a wide decision on all three judge’s scorecards. Fightnews had it 99-93 for Povetkin.
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In a crowd-pleasing all-action brawl, Pole Albert “Dragon” Sosnowski (44-2-1, 27 KOs) and local hero Francesco Pianeta (18-0-1, 11 KOs) fought to a spirited twelve-round draw. Both fighters started the action from round one. The Polish fighter used his superior speed and sharp left jab to set up numerous combinations in the starting rounds. Pianeta, on the other hand, was by far less active but more precise and stronger at the same time. After two even rounds, Sosnowski looked huge in the third. The following stanza was even but Pianeta took the next couple of rounds with his strong left and right hooks while the Pole was seemingly gassing out of the fight. Surprisingly, he mounted a comeback in round six only to be rocked several times in round seven. When the fight was looking all Pianeta’s way, Sosnowski finally caught his second wind and took rounds nine, ten and eleven by outworking the German-based Italian with his speedy combos while hugely fatigued Pianeta fired little in return. Both fighters gave their all in the twelth and final round. Both hands were raised by referee Daniel Van de Wiele after the scorecards had been rendered: 115-113, 114-116 and 114-114. Fightnews scored it as a hairline victory for Francesco Pianeta 115-114 in what seems to be one of the best European fights in 2009. Pianeta retained his EBU-EE belt.
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Promising cruiserweight prospect Alexander Frenkel (16-0, 12 KOs) didn’t look his best after a year-long hiatus but scored a fifth-round stoppage over durable Ruben Groenewald (22-7-3, 9 KOs) of South Africa. Frenkel, coming off a severe hand injury, looked precautious and avoided using his pre-injured right in the first two rounds. In round three, German fighter rocked his foe with a huge left to the liver but Groenewald was able to recover well. However, at the end of the same stanza Frenkel threw a huge left hook flooring his opponent but referee somewhat surprisingly didn’t rule it as a knockdown. Groenewald came back with some combinations of his own to steal the next round. In round five, Frenkel finally got on track. He started the stanza with a number of left hooks to soften South African. Then he scored a hard knockdown with a picture-perfect right-left combination to the head. Groenewald beat the count on unsteady legs but looked a bit dazed when the referee halted the contest with what seemed to be a premature stoppage. Time was 1:16 of round five.
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Light heavyweight Artur Hein (8-0, 4 KOs) looked ordinary in outpointing experienced Italian veteran Massimiliano Saiani (24-18-3, 10 KOs) over eight rounds with the scores 79-75, 79-74, and 79-73. Fightnews scored it 78-74 for Hein.
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Aggressive German female swarmer Nadia Raoui (10-0-1, 3 KOs) dominated Italian boxer Maria Rosa Tabbuso (12-4-2, 3 KOs) over ten one-sided rounds to capture an interim version of the WIBA flyweight title with the scores: 100-90, 100-91, 97-93. Shorter but more active Raoui used multiple cobinations to keep taller and slower Tabbuso at bay and was close to getting the stoppage on several occasions but the Italian guest was able to go the full distance. Fightnews scored it 100-90 for Raoui.
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Comebacking Belgian cruiserweight Geoffrey Battelo (19-1, 16 KOs) stopped experienced Hungarian journeyman Zoltan Beres (38-42-2, 13 KOs) in the fifth round of scheduled eight. Hard-hitting Battelo started to batter overmatched Beres from the outset and scored numerous times both to the head and body. In round five, the Belgian fighter increased his punch output even more and after a few combinations Beres turned his back prompting referee to halt the contest. The Hungarian fighter, however, was never down in the fight.
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In a six-round super middleweight collision, prospects Juergen Doberstein (6-1-1, 2 KOs) and Henry Weber (10-0-1, 2 KOs) fought to a draw.
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Rising light heavyweight prospect Dustin Dirks (9-0, 4 KOs) scored a workmanlike six-round decision over Belgian opponent Alessio Singh (3-6, 1 KO).