Tough night for Pazi as he targets IBF belt
Tanzania’s Abdallah Pazi (second right) possess and Germany’s Leon Bauer (with the belt) pose after a press conference held in Ludwigshafen yesterday. PHOTO|COURTESY
What you need to know:
Dulla Mbabe, as the Tanzanian boxer is popularly known, underwent intensive training for one month and before his departure, he promised to defy the odds on foreign soil.
Dar es Salaam. Abdallah Pazi, of the best boxers in the country, goes into the ring today for a date with German boxer Leon Bauer, vying for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Junior Super middleweight belt. The 12-round fight will take place at the Friedrich-Ebert-Halle in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
Dulla Mbabe, as the Tanzanian boxer is popularly known, underwent intensive training for one month and before his departure, he promised to defy the odds on foreign soil.
The fight was earlier planned for next weekend, but organisers decided to bring it forward for what they described as technical reasons.
Despite exuding confidence, Pazi faces a tall order to floor Bauer, who has yet to lose a bout since turning professional boxing in April, 2015.
He boasts a record of 11 wins (eight by knockout) with no draw or loss.
Bauer won the IBF title on December 3, last year against Romania’s Soso Abuladze via a technical knock-out (TKO) in the second round of the scheduled 12-round fight.
He retained the title on May 20, this year with unanimous decision against Romanian boxer Gheorghe Sabau.
Pazi, one of the best super middleweight boxers in the country, appeared set to excel internationally when he outshined Russian Andrey Kalyuzhnyy on January 30. However, he was a pale shadow of himself in his last three fights against Robert Bassi of Italy, Germany’s Toni Kraft and Umar Salamov. But the 24-year-old boxer, who has won 17 of his 23 bouts, 16 of them by knockout, said yesterday that he was in great shape, looking forward to silence Bauer before his fans.
Pazi has expressed optimism that he will restore his dented pride and emerge new IBF World Junior Super middleweight champion. “I am ready for the fight; I know it will be tough for me due to the fact that my opponent is fighting at home with a huge support from his fans, but I will make sure that I have the last laugh,” he said.
Pazi added: “This will be the third time for me to fight in Germany. I know that Bauer is a good boxer, he has an impressive record, but records don’t fight.”
