Ina Menzer overcame a bad cut over her right eye to defeat Sandy Tsagouris.

Kraj defeats Godfrey!
Menzer, Graf successfully defend world belts

March 10, 2008

Photos: Marianne Müller

In an important WBC cruiserweight eliminator, Olympic silver medalist and #2 rated Rudolf Kraj (14-0, 10 KOs) earned the right to challenge for the WBC world title with a twelve round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten #1 rated Matt Godfrey (16-1, 9 KOs) on Saturday night at the KönigPALAST in Krefeld, Germany. It was a tactical fight with neither fighter establishing a clear advantage, however Kraj was more active and deservedly won 115-113, 116-113, 117-111.

"Matt Godfrey was my strongest opponent so far," said Kraj after the fight. "He didn't punch hard, but he's very smart. He is technically good and has a very good eye. It was difficult to beat him, but I was well prepared and exactly followed the strategy from my trainer Konny Mittermeier all the way to the end. It was my day. Everything went my way. Now let's see what David Haye does."

WIBF featherweight champion Ina Menzer (20-0, 8 KOs) overcame a bad cut over her right eye caused by a headbutt to claim a hard fought unanimous decision over the very tough and previously unbeaten challenger Sandy Tsagouris (7-1, 3 KOs). Scores were 96-94, 97-93, 97-93. Menzer also picked up the vacant WBC belt with the win.

"I felt super despite the cut," said Menzer. "It didn't bother me, I had no pain and I absolutely wanted to continue. The first four rounds, I caught her with some really good right hands. The other rounds were in my opinion even or a slight advantage for me, so I was quite sure that I'd win on points. Naturally I had the cut in mind. I could see everything, but was a little worried if I had done enough."

Menzer's coach Michael Timm added, "I am very proud of Ina. After the cut, she became even stronger. The cut lit a fire under Tsagouris, but Ina held her own. An athlete must be ready for such a situation. One only hopes that they don't go away from their game plan. Hats off for Ina's performance. This speaks well for women's boxing. Ina has ensured that she'll continue her rise to the top. There's a lot of talk about Regina Halmich's successor - and I think that today Ina took the first step."

GBU/WIBF junior bantamweight champion Alesia Graf (20-1, 8 KOs) outboxed late sub and recent Regina Halmich foe Hagar Shmoulefeld Finer (16-6-3, 4 KOs), winning a clear ten round unanimous decision. Graf never let the feisty Finer establish any rhythm as she swept to a 98-92, 98-92, 97-93 win.

"The fight against Shmoulefeld was very exhausting," said Graf. "Yes, I knew what I was supposed to do, but it's something else when you go against someone in double coverage at one moment and at times fighting wildly. You have to repeatedly re-adjust and at times trade punches. I wanted to variate my boxing and that works well in the mid-distance. This was a challenge for my technique and dynamics."

Graf's coach Torsten Schmitz commented, "The fight against Shmoulefeld was very attractive for the audience. Sometimes I would have preferred Alesia Graf to stay clear and see more from long range. It was also difficult to box against Shmoulefeld with her wild fighting style. Actually, she should have fought the Israeli at a distance. At least in the mid-distance, Alesia showed her good technique using many variations. Overall, Alesia's fight was again an advertisement for the women's boxing!"

Finer, who took the fight on late notice, stated "I was very focused on getting the knockout. I was tired."

Unbeaten super middleweight hope Eduard Gutknecht (12-0, 6 KOs) dominated Valentin Antonio Ochoa (17-7-1, 7 KOs) over eight by scores of 80-72, 80-74, 80-72.

Unbeaten heavyweight Gbenga Oloukun (15-0, 9 KOs) was victorious over Raphael Zumbano (11-3-1, 10 KOs) by scores of 80-72, 80-73, 80-74.

In his first ten-rounder, unbeaten bantamweight Zsolt Bedak (9-0, 2 KOs) handled Lubos Priehradnik 100-90, 100-90, 100-93.

"The Ista Man" heavyweight Adnan Serin (19-8, 7 KOs) topped Remigijus Ziausys in a four-rounder 39-37, 39-37, 40-37.