Arslan dominates Wilson!
Dimintrenko, Graf also victorious

Photos: Marianne Müller

May 3, 2008

On Saturday night, Universum Box-Promotion staged the year's first "Universum Champions Night" at the Hans-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart, Germany. In front of 5200 spectators, hometown WBA cruiserweight champion Firat Arslan made the first defense of his title after winning it in a sensational battle against US-legend Virgil Hill in November. He faced another American, the hard-hitting "Ding-A-Ling Man" Darnell Wilson in the main event of the evening. The two co-features saw heavyweight contender Alexander Dimitrenko against once beaten Derric Rossy from Puerto Rico in a WBO Intercontinental title bout and female hometown hero Alesia Graf in the seventh defense of her GBU and the first of her WIBF junior bantamweight world titles against Rosilette Dos Santos.

WBA cruiserweight champion Firat Arslan outfought and outboxed the always dangerous "Ding-A-Ling Man" Darnell Wilson to successfully defend his crown by unanimous decision for the first time since taking it away from Virgil Hill last November. Arslan proved to be the aggressor during the fight, while Wilson tried to catch him with one of his powerful hooks. The champion, at 37-years of age, did great work with straight punches on the outside, especially with his left. On the inside, he caught Wilson with short hooks and uppercuts while keeping his guard up. Wilson tried desperately to land a knockout punch but he could not get through Arslan's defense. He was, however, always dangerous with his shots. Except for a close first and eight round, Arslan dominated his challenger with his effective and precise punching. It was a excellent showcase for Arslan, and a exciting, tough one-sided, battle between two of the best cruiserweights in the world. After twelve hard-fought rounds, the judges were in agreement as they all scored the bout 117-111 for Arslan, who moves his record to 29-3-1. Wilson falls to 23-7-3.

Heavyweight contender Alexander "Sascha" Dimitrenko was able to defend his WBO intercontinental title against New York City-based Puerto Rican Derric Rossy by TKO at 2:58 of the fifth round. Rossy, however, gave the tall "Sascha" some problems in the first few rounds, as he used his speed advantage to get some clean shots in. Dimitrenko kept his composure and tried to box him on the outside and counter him with hooks. His patience paid off in the fifth, as he knocked Rossy down twice before the referee stopped the bout. Dimitrenko stays unbeaten at 28-0 with 18 KOs, while Rossy falls to 18-2.

In the first of three main events of the night, hometown hero and WIBF/GBU junior bantamweight world champion Alesia Graf defended her belts against Brazilian Rosillette Dos Santos. In a fast-paced, high-action battle, Graf showcased her skills as she hit her aggressive foe at will and scored with nice combinations. Dos Santos proved to be a worthy challenger, as she walked forward although getting hit hard. In round five, Graf unleashed another barrage of powerful punches before the referee stepped in to call a halt to the action. Dos Santos protested the stoppage at 1:32 minutes of the fifth round. The victory marked the seventh title defense for Graf, who moves to 21-1 with nine KOs, while Dos Santos falls to 10-3.

Universum heavyweight Markus Tomala scored a four round unanimous decision over tough journeyman Remigijus Ziausys. It was the second victory in his second professional bout for Tomala.

German featherweight hope Marcel Meyerdiercks, of Spotlight Boxing, scored a third round knockout over journeyman Peter Balazs. Meyerdiercks knocked his foe down twice in round three before the referee reached the count of ten. He moves to 8-0 with four KOs.

WBA #2 bantamweight contender Nehomar Cermeno scored a unanimous decision victory over Mexican Marco Antonio "El Bombardero" Hernandez, who suffered a deep cut over his right eye in round nine. After ten rounds, the judges scored the bout 99-93, 99-91 and 97-93 for Cermeno, who continues his unbeaten ring journey and moves to 15-0.

"El Nino" Juan Ruiz defeated Semens Moroshek by four round unanimous decision in a light middleweight affair. Scores were 40-36 twice and 39-37. With the victory, Ruiz kept his unbeaten record intact and moves to 4-0.

Jefferson Montanet from Venezuela battled to a majority draw with journeyman Vadim Chromich. Scores were 38-38 twice and 39-37. Monatenet moves to 3-0-1.

In the first bout of the evening, junior flyweight Asiye Oziem Sahin defeated Nataliya Bermas by unanimous decision over four rounds. Sahin is now 6-0 as a professional.