Four of the top five female atomweight fighters in the world will share the top bill on November 23rd on a Blanko Sports and SES Boxing co-promotion at the Olympic Center, Heidelberg, Germany.
The triple header will see WBC atomweight (102 pound) titleholder Tina Rupprecht and WBA/WBO counterpart Eri Matsuda clash in a unification for the vacant Ring Championship.
Meanwhile, IBF atomweight titleholder Sumire Yamanaka will put her title on the line against Fabiana Bytyqi. In the undercard, European heavyweight titleholder Oleksandr Zakhozhyi will face Arnold Gjergjaj.
“I am so excited to have the opportunity to unify the titles and fight for the coveted Ring title,” Rupprecht told The Ring. “This has always been my dream!
“I have great respect for the WBO and WBA champion Eri Matsuda, but I will show that I am the best in the division and that I will be undisputed champion.”
Blanko Sports and SES Boxing head honcho Benedikt Poelchau welcomes the opportunity to host such a big show in his homeland.
Atomweight Eri Matsuda (right) kept her young record perfect (3-0) with a unanimous decision over Nanae Suzuki on March 13 at Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall. (Photo by Naoki Fukuda)
“It’s a special night for German boxing,” said the promoter. “Tina has the opportunity to write history. If she wins, she will be the first German boxer – male or female – to hold three world titles plus The Ring belt.
“Extra 6’9″ EBU European Heavyweight Champion Oleks Zakhozhyi will defend his EBU title and will once again show that he is a threat to the elite heavyweights out there. I am proud to bring that historic night of boxing to Heidelberg.”
Rupprecht (13-1-1, 3 KOs), who was ranked by The Ring at atomweight as no. 1, started kickboxing in her teens before switching to boxing and won two German national titles as an amateur before turning professional. In her seventh fight, she won the WBC interim strawweight title. After one defense, she was upgraded to full champion and made five more defenses, notably beating Katia Gutierrez (SD 10) before losing to WBA reigning Seniesa Estrada (UD 10) in a unification. She dropped in weight and beat Bytyqi (UD 10) for the WBC title.
Ranked #2 by The Ring, Matsuda (7-1-1, 1 KO) won the OPBF in her second bout and added the Japanese national title in her next fight. She was tied by Saemi Hanagata (D 10) for the vacant IBF atomweight title and lost to Ayaka Miyao (SD 10) for the same title. She got back into the win column and won the WBA/WBO 102-pound titles last time out against Yuko Kuroki (SD 10).
Rated No. 3 by The Ring, Yamanaka (8-0, 3 KOs) is the younger sister of former WBO strawweight titleholder Ryuya. She made her debut in 2020 and won a WBO regional title in her sixth fight. She last claimed the IBF title by playing against Mika Iwakawa (UD 10) at home.
Bytyqi (21-1-2, 5 KOs), ranked No. 5 by The Ring, turned professional in 2015. She became the first woman from the Czech Republic to win a world title when she defeated Denise Castle (UD 10) for the vacant WBC atomweight title in September 2018. The 28-year-old made four defenses before facing Rupprecht (UD 10) in January lost
Zakhozyi (19-0, 15 KOs) made his debut in 2017. However, the 31-year-old Ukrainian mostly had to fight overseas. The 6’9” fighter beat the likes of Kevin Johnson (UD 8), Pavel Sour (TKO 3) and Evgenios Lazaridis (TKO 1) before stepping up in a big way and stopping previously undefeated Granit Shala (KO 2) to fill the vacant European title in April.
Gjergjaj (38-3, 27 KOs) has been a professional since making his debut in his adopted home of Switzerland in 2009. The now 40-year-old Kosovan-born fighter won his first 29 against modest opposition. His big opportunity came against David Haye in London in 2016 and he was stopped in two rounds. He has lost two other fights but is on a six fight winning streak.
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at (email protected).
