By Jake Donovan
Unbeaten light heavyweight prospect Enrico Koelling now has an opponent set for his next ring appearance. The 24-year old will face Croatia's Mirzet Bajrektarevic (8-1, 4KO) in a scheduled eight-round preliminary bout on April 5 in Rostock, Germany.
The bout comes in support of stablemate Juergen Braehmer, who headlines in a light heavyweight title defense versus former cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli.
It has already been an active 1st quarter of 2014 for Koelling (12-0, 4KO), who has a win under his belt and recently celebrated his 24th birthday. The April 5 showcase bout will mark his 13th fight since turning pro in Sept. '12.
Koelling is coming off of a 3rd round knockout versus Paata Aduashvili this past January. The win, which served on the undercard of Marco Huck's repeat win over Firat Arslan, netted the Berlin native his first pro title of any kind. Current plans call for more title fight opportunities to come, on the domestic and international level.
"It was a sensational feeling to win my first pro title on January 25. Now I want to set my sights on the next one," said Koelling, who is trained by Karsten Roewer, which also results in plenty of gym and preparation time with Braehmer, who is taken aback by the young protégé.
"He has the fire and determination to make it to the top. I seldom meet such a hardworking boxer as Enrico," Braehmer insists. ''He has given me fantastic sparring since I have been with Team Sauerland and is one of the reasons why I am currently the WBA (light heavyweight) champion."
A win in April for Koelling is expected to lead to a title fight of sorts sometime this summer. Against whom isn't of much concern to his team, more so that it's the best availability opportunity as they believe their fighter is ready for anyone ready to step to him.
"Every time he steps through the ropes you can see a real progression in his technique and tactics," notes Hagen Doering, matchmaker for Sauerland Event. "This is why we plan to have him fight for a championship this summer – whether this be an Intercontinental or even a European Championship.’’
In Bajrektarevic, Koelling is matched against a southpaw for his second straight fight.
"He is southpaw and last time I fought, I beat a southpaw by knockout," Koelling states optimistically. "This will be the perfect warm up ahead of a big fight this summer!"
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
