Last week in Canada, forty six year old Bernard Hopkins defied Mother Nature and became the oldest man in the boxing ring to win a world title belt. That record was held by Big George Foreman for almost seventeen years, who at the age of forty five knocked out Michael Moorer for a heavyweight title in 1994. Next Saturday in Los Angeles, German middleweight, Sebastian Zbik will try to break another record when he faces Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. for WBC middleweight title.
?It was eighty years when Max Schmeling won the last championship fight,? said Sebastian Zbik referring to German boxers fighting in America:?So we can make history in Germany with that fight.? Actually it was only seventy five years ago, in June of 1936, when Max Schmeling knocked out Joe Louis in New York at the Yankee Stadium in a bout that was later named the Fight of the Year by the Ring Magazine. Just to keep the record straight that bout in 1936 was not a championship fight, but their rematch in 1938 when Joe Louis knocked out Black Uhlan of the Rhine in the very first round was for a heavyweight crown.
The last German middleweight to attempt that feat was Felix Strum who lost a controversial decision to Oscar De La Hoya in 2004. Arthur Abraham moved up to super middleweight and stopped Edison Miranda in Miami in 2008, but that was not a championship fight.
?I am very proud and very happy to be here,? said Zbik who won the interim WBC middleweight title in 2010 and got the real belt this year when the true champion Sergio Martinez surrendered it in favor of fighting Dzinziruk: ?It?s a big event for me. But in the end it?s important for me to win the fight. At the moment I don?t feel like a real champion, because it?s not very nice for a sportsman to get the belt from a clean table. It?s better to fight for it. So, when I win the fight next Saturday, it?s the first step for me to feel better with the belt.?
Undefeated in thirty professional fights twenty nine year old champion from Germany brings a wealth of amateur experience to the table.? I started with soccer when I was seven years old,? said Zbik when I interviewed him this week at the Justine Fortune Gym in Hollywood:?But when I was ten I started with boxing and I had success from the beginning. Since I was twelve years old, I trained two times a day. That?s why I am successful and that?s why I am here now.? Advertisement
Even thought his opponent, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. lacks amateur experience; he has matured in professional ranks amassing an undefeated record of 42 wins one draw and thirty knock outs. Junior is shooting for his own record; he covets a middleweight crown in the eve of his legendary father being inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.
?He is very strong. He is undefeated in forty fights,? said Zbik (30-0,10KO?S) about his adversary:?He is a little bit in the same situation like me. He doesn?t have big name on his record. So, he never fought somebody like me before and for me it?s also a very hard fight, I think.?
Both pugilists are young and hungry and motivated and well prepared to win the fight and that makes for an exciting drama for fight fans. Even though Julio Cesar Chavez is two to one favorite to win the title, the German champion is not worried about home field disadvantage.
?I think we win the fight here in a very clear way,? said Zbik:? So that after twelve rounds there are no questions as to who won the fight. My prediction is that we win. I think I have many advantages over him (Chavez Jr.): my speed, my reflexes, and my defense.?
Sebastian Zbik will face Julio Cesar Jr. on June 4th at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. At stake for two undefeated warriors will be WBC middleweight title and a chance at making their own history. Twelve round middleweight contest will be televised live by HBO. Tickets are still available at Ticketmaster or Staples Center Box Office.
