By Jake Donovan
Shefat Isufi is well aware that few if any give him any chance at all of beating Billy Joe Saunders this weekend.
His challenge of the unbeaten Brit is about so much more than upsetting the odds, though.
The streaking super middleweight contender heads into Saturday’s contest at Lanex Stadium in Stevenage, England—mere miles from Saunders’ Hatfield hometown—looking to become the first ever Albania-born boxer to win a major title, with the vacant WBO 168-pound at stake.
“I’m doing this for myself first, because I need to win,” Isufi (27-3-2, 20KOs) stated during the final pre-fight conference for Saturday’s show, which airs live on BT Sport in the United Kingdom and ESPN+ in the United States. “But it will be an honor to become the first Albania-born fighter to win a world title.
“It will also be a big deal for my (adopted) home country of Germany, which is presently without a world champion.”
Isufi has won his last 10 starts heading into this weekend’s affair, for which he is nearly a 14/1 betting underdog to prevail. Saunders (27-0, 13KOs) is a 100/1 favorite to leave the ring as a two-division major titlist, having served as a middleweight beltholder for nearly three years.
The heavy betting odds are of little surprise to the visiting challenger, who now lives and trains in Munich, Germany. It was there where he met the second of the two most influential figures in his boxing life, the first coming directly from home.
Isufi’s father, Nasuf was among his biggest supporters when first took up boxing at the age of 10. He passed away during Isufi’s childhood, not living long enough to witness his most significant in-ring achievements both as an amateur and through more than nine years in the pro ranks.
The streaking contender hoped to fill that void when joining forces with Graciano ‘Rocky’ Rocchigiani, a former super middleweight and light heavyweight titlist who became Isufi’s head trainer in June 2017. Their union would last just four fights, as Rocchigiani was killed last October, struck by a speeding vehicle while taking a walk in Italy.
Saturday’s fight will be Isufi’s first since that horrific fate suffered by his former trainer. It only further drives him to upset the odds and bring him his first major title.
“My father died when I was a young man. He’s always on my mind and has always guided me from above,” Isufi noted in touching on his out-of-the-ring motivation. “I have another guardian angel looking over me from above, my old trainer Graciano ‘Rocky’ Rocchigianni, who recently died. I have two guardian angels looking over me from above.
“When I win, I will visit my father’s grave and thank him for pushing me and supporting me and all of my dreams. It’s sad that he won’t be able to be here to see me win the title, but it will be an honor for me to be able to present it to him.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
