By Jake Donovan
With Sergey Kovalev taking on Bernard Hopkins in a November 8 light heavyweight unification bout that will also have the division's lineal king Adonis Stevenson at ringside, Jurgen Braehmer is the lone remaining beltholder to not join the party.
That's because he is hard at work in training to squeez in a third fight in 2014. The defending titlist will return December 6, facing a yet-to-be-named opponent at the EWA Arena in Oldenburg, Germany.
The bout comes six months following his last ring appearance, a 12-round points win over Roberto Bolonti.
"I've kept in great shape since my last fight," Braehmer (44-2, 32KOs) noted. "I look forward to getting back in the ring and fighting for a third time in 2014."
The 36-year old southpaw has kept an active schedule as of late. His upcoming title defense will mark his seventh fight in a span of less than two years. A busy 2013 campaign culminated with a 12-round win over previously unbeaten Marcus Oliveira to claim a vacant alphabet title.
Two defenses have followed. In addition to his win over Bolonti in June, Braehmer also beat on former cruiserweight titlist Enzo Maccarinelli in forcing him to quit after five rounds in their April clash.
The fight will serve as the last under promoter Sauerland Event's television deal with ARD, which expires at year's end before moving to SAT.1. The current date is also the same as an announced cruiserweight championship between lineal king Yoan Pablo Hernandez and Ola Afolabi.
There has not been any mention of whether the two fights will land on the same show or if one fight will get moved to another date. Sauerland Event's press office confirmed that Braehmer's title fight "will headline the December 6 show, with all other fights to be announced shortly."
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as the Records Keeper for the Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and a member of Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
