Juergen Braehmer: I Will Make Bolonti Pay On Fight Night

By Jake Donovan

Juergen Braehmer would love nothing more to embrace the thought of his next title defense taking place in his hometown of Schwerin, Germany. The 35-year old heads home for a June 7 light heavyweight title fight with Argentina's Roberto Bolonti.

While visions of familiar surroundings and adoring local fans serve as a picturesque backdrop, Braehmer is instead forced to endure verbal challenges recently dropped by his challenger.

Credit goes to Bolonti (35-2, 24KO) for showing no fear in his second trip outside of his native Argentina. The 35-year old challenger openly questioned how much Braehmer has left in the tank, despite the fact that the defending champion is a mere three months older.

"Both of us might be 35 years of age, but he is far more battle-worn than I am," Bolonti recently insisted. "I am simply fresher and not depleted like him." 

Braehmer is all for smack talk, but is curious from where Bolonti obtains his information and forms his opinion.

"Maybe he did not watch my last fights," Braehmer (43-2, 32KO) wonders. "My last real war inside a ring is so long ago, I cannot even remember it. However, I can keep this delusion on his mind. I will make him pay come fight night and it will not be cheap."

Braehmer won his version of the light heavyweight title with a clear-cut points win over previously unbeaten Marcus Oliveira last December. His first defense came this past April, bludgeoning former cruiserweight champ Enzo Maccarinelli en route to a 5th round stoppage. 

With plenty of activity going on in the light heavyweight division, Braehmer's stance as a current titlist puts him in the mix for lucrative future paydays against the likes of unbeaten Sergey Kovalev, legendary unified titlist Bernard Hopkins and World lineal light heavyweight king Adonis Stevenson. 

Before getting to that point, however, he must take care of present business at hand. Full concentration on his next fight was never a concern, but now comes with even greater motivation considering some sharp comments recently made by his upcoming challenger.

"The only thing that is currently on my mind is beating (Bolonti)," Braehmer says of the June 7 title fight. "I would love to make it an early night like the one I delivered years back against Francisco Antonio Mora (an Argentine brawler whom Braehmer dropped three times en route to an 8th round stoppage in Oct' 06). Let us see if he can take my hooks to the liver better than his countryman did."

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox