¨Netherlands’ No.1 Nouchka Fontijn bowed out the professional World Champion Christina Hammer at the Cologne Boxing World Cup in an exciting battle.
Nouchka Fontijn eliminated the German professional World Champion, Christina Hammer.
Netherlands’ Rio 2016 Olympic Games silver medallist Nouchka Fontijn is one of the top woman middleweight (75kg) boxers in the whole world but she expected a tough battle against Germany’s professional World Champion Christina Hammer who joined to the Olympic national team last December. Hammer tried to pressurize her experienced Dutch rival and used the central position to reach Fontijn. The Dutch overcame her several times in the first round but Hammer moved ahead and she was not tired in the final minutes. Hammer opened the third round with a good punched but she received quick responses from the Dutch side. Fontijn impressed with her perfect rhythm in the bout and eliminated a sensational rival in Cologne therefore she can meet with France’s Davina Michel in the final.
“I did not expect anything before the contest, I know the German comes from professional boxing and we watched video about her yesterday. I think the too much thinking before the fight doesn’t support your preparation therefore I focused to my strategy which worked well today. I know also my French final opponent but every day could be different therefore we will make plans against her to find the best tactic. You never know, might be this is a normal tournament but you can meet with anyone in the most important event at the Olympic Games,” said Netherlands’ Nouchka Fontijn after her semi-final contest.¨
The bout of the day
¨Brazil’s Wanderson Oliveira was quarter-finalist at the Yekaterinburg 2019 AIBA World Boxing Championships and he proved impressive performance in the opening day in Cologne. His second rival, Netherland’s European Games bronze medallist Enrico La Cruz moved back more than in his previous contests but he tried to land punches with not the perfect timing. The South American opened the second round with strong right-handed uppercuts in a bout which was strong promotions of boxing. The 23-year-old Brazilian moved forward all the time and his impressive technical skills determined the result of their outstanding semi-final. Oliveira won their superb semi-final and will have the chance to take the title of the lightweight (63kg) against Kazakhstan’s Yertugan Zeinulinov.¨
