Ola Afolabi: record, next fight and profile →
Boxing fans can look forward to a double-header of world championship action on December 6 at the EWE Arena in Oldenburg, Germany. In addition to Juergen Braehmer’s scheduled WBA World Light Heavyweight title defence against Pawel Glazewski, Cuban cruiserweight king Yoan Pablo Hernandez (29-1, 14 KOs) will co-headline with a mandatory defence of his IBF World title against Ola Afolabi (21-3-4, 10 KOs).
Venice, CA - OLA “Kryptonite” AFOLABI has been named the mandatory challenger by the International Boxing Federation (‘IBF’) to cruiserweight world champion YOAN PABLO HERNANDEZ. According to the IBF, the world title bout must take place by December 31, 2014. Hernandez, 29-1-0 (14KO’s), won a split decision over Firat Arslan this past Saturday, August 16 in Erfurt, Germany in the fourth defense of his title.
Eye on the prize. In this case, there are two things Ola Afolabi is eyeing. He is eyeing victory over a last-minute replacement and a shot at a world title belt. With so much on the line and having the experience of being in this situation before, Afolabi can not pass this opportunity, no matter if the going gets tough. The cruiserweight contender faces Anthony Caputo Smith in a 10 round bout at Madison Square Garden in New York City, N.Y. on Saturday night. The bout will headline the non-televised undercard of a K2 Promotions/ Gary Shaw Productions card.
Junior welterweight prospect Julian Rodriguez overwhelmed opponent Yankton Southern in the first round of a scheduled four round bout. Rodriguez (5-0, 4 KOs) landed a left hook to the body that forced Southern to take a knee. Southern (4-6, 4 KOs) was counted out at 43 seconds by referee Gary Rosato.
Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Geale both came in under the 160-pound limit for Saturday night’s middleweight title fight at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Golovkin, the defending World Boxing Association titleholder, came in at 159.8 pounds, while Geale, a former International Boxing Federation and WBA beltholder, weighed 159.2 pounds. Golovkin, a 32-year-old from Kazakhstan, is 29-0 with 26 KOs. This will be his fifth appearance on HBO, and his second fight of 2014. Golovkin stopped Osumanu Adama in seven rounds in February and was scheduled to return in April, only to have that fight called off after the unexpected death of his father. Last year, Golovkin fought four times, beating Gabriel Rosado, Nobuhiro Ishida, Matthew Macklin and Curtis Stevens, all comfortably within the distance. Geale represents a step up in class of opposition.
The Internationl Boxing Federation has ordered a cruiserweight final eliminator between Ola Afolabi (20-4-3, 9KOs) and EBU-EU champion Mirko Larghetti (20-0, 12KOs). The winner will become the mandatory challenger to Yoan Pablo Hernandez (28-1, 14KOs), who has a very tough defense scheduled for March 8th against undefeated Polish contender Pawel Kolodziej (33-0, 18KOs), taking place at the Max Schmeling Halle in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany.
Almaty, Kazakhstan’s Isa Akbarbayev got the crowd into the action immediately, keeping his undefeated record intact with a shutout four round unanimous decision win over Brian Clookey in the cruiserweight opener. Scores were 40-36 across the board Clookey showed up to fight, but without the firepower to hurt his opponent, the better schooled Akbarbayev steadily broke the New Yorker down, with body shots being his most effective weapon. By the fourth round, the “Bumble Bee” had Clookey bleeding from a cut over his eye, and the outcome was no longer in the doubt, but the previously unbeaten Chase Mills product did manage to make it to the final bell With the win, Akbarbayev improves to 11-0 with 7 KOs and 1 NC; Clookey falls to 4-1-2 with 2 KOs.
NEW YORK CITY - All fighters for this Saturday’s night’s “MONSTERS COLLIDE” professional boxing event at Madison Square Garden, “The Mecca of Boxing”, weighed-in today. “MONSTERS COLLIDE” is headlined by the World Middleweight Championship between WBA/IBO Champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and top rated challenger Curtis Stevens of Brooklyn, New York.
The weights are in for the HBO televised doubleheader from the Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden. The main event is a middleweight battle between WBA/IBO champion Gennady Golovkin and Curtis Stevens. The challenger, Stevens (25-3, 18KOs) was 159.2-pounds Golovkin (27-0, 24KOs) was 159.6-pounds In the co-featured attraction, a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Mike Perez (19-0, 12KOs) came in at 235.8-pounds, while Magomed Abdusalamov (18-0, 18KOs) came in at 231.6-pounds. They battle for the WBC United States (USNBC) heavyweight title. For the IBO cruiserweight championship, Ola Afolabi (19-3, 9KOs) came in at 194-pounds, while Lukasz Janik (26-1, 14KOs) was 198.6-pounds.
The weights are in for the HBO televised doubleheader from the Theater in New York's Madison Square Garden. The main event is a middleweight battle between WBA/IBO champion Gennady Golovkin 159.6-pounds and Curtis Stevens was 159.2-pounds. The challenger, Stevens (25-3, 18KOs), came in at . Golovkin (27-0, 24KOs)was In the co-featured attraction, a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Mike Perez (19-0, 12KOs) came in at 235.8-pounds, while Magomed Abdusalamov (18-0, 18KOs) came in at 231.6-pounds. They battle for the WBC United States (USNBC) heavyweight title. For the IBO cruiserweight championship, Ola Afolabi (19-3, 9KOs) came in at 194-pounds, while Lukasz Janik (26-1, 14KOs) was 198.6-pounds.