The first meeting between WBA, WBC and WBO Female Welterweight Champion Cecilia Braekhus (22-0, 6 KOs), the pound-for-pound number one, and WBO Light Middleweight Champion Oxandia Castillo (12-0, 9 KOs) came to a dramatic conclusion on Thursday afternoon. While the First Lady was giving interviews after the final press conference, Castillo grabbed the three belts and posed for pictures with them. “They will be mine on Saturday, I will take them home,” she said.
The clash of unbeaten champions at Arena Nord in Frederikshavn, Denmark is just two days away. “She should not have taken my belts, I am not happy about it,” Braekhus said. “I have never seen anyone do that before. Anyway, it´s the closest she will get to them. She will never touch them again. I will defend them on Saturday and take them back home with me.”
When promoter Nisse Sauerland heard about the happenings, he was shocked by the “disrespectful behaviour” of the 18-year-old.
“It is a big insult to take the belts,” Sauerland stated. “You have to earn the belts, you cannot just take them. Oxandia crossed a line and Cecilia will make her pay for it on Saturday night.”
On Saturday, Braekhus can once again be counting on the ferocious support from Norwegian and Danish fans. “The support in Frederikshavn has always been fantastic and we will put on a great fight on Saturday,” she stated. “It´s something special to fight here.”
Castillo is unimpressed by the prospect of entering an arena packed with a hostile crowd. “That´s no problem for me. When I knocked out Hanna Gabriel, I had no support either. I will be at my best on Saturday and win the titles.”
In the Danish main event, WBA Intercontinental Middleweight Champion Patrick (19-0, 9 KOs) Nielsen takes on Patrick Majewski (21-1, 13 KOs). The WBO Intercontinental Title will also be at stake. The Nordic Fight Night will be broadcast live across Scandinavia on the Viasat channels.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
