Doberstein & El Halabi Retains, Amasheh & Donfack Wins WBF Titles!

Source/WBF Release – September 8, 2013

(SEPT 8)  Last night at the Saarlandhalle in Saarbruecken, Germany, the WBF Convention came to a conclusion with a big WBF championship quadruple-header presented by local promoters DOG Eventboxing.  In front of a good crowd at the traditional venue, Berlin-based Cameroonian Bernard Donfack captured the vacant WBF International Light Heavyweight title by fourth round technical knockout over Said Mbelwa from Tanzania in the evening’s first championship bout.  Mbelwa clearly came to fight his chance, but after an even first round, a fired-up Donfack scored knock-downs in rounds two and three, before a third one in round four prompted the referee to wave the fight off, much to the displeasure of Mbelwa.  With the victory the new champion improved his record to 17-11-3 (9), while Mbelwa travels back to Dar Es Salaam with a 23-13-4 (15) ledger.

Only a month after winning the title, WBF Womens World Light Welterweight Champion Rola El Halabi made a successful first defence by seeing off previously undefeated challenger Sopo Putkaradze from Georgia.

The reigning champion dominated the fight from the first bell, and knocked Putkaradze down in round one and two. But the game Georgian managed to hang on until the sixth, where she was rescued on her feet after taking many clean shots. El Halabi is now 13-1 (7) since turning pro in 2007, and 20-year-old Putkaradze loses for the first time and drops to 6-1-2 (1).

Already a WBF titlist, going in as the Intercontinental Flyweight Champion, undefeated Raja Amasheh moved up in weight to win the vacant WBF Women’s World Super Flyweight title by defeating tough co-challenger Eva Voraberger from Austria.

Both boxers gave their all through ten entertaining rounds, but Amasheh proved to be the better of the two in most rounds and in the end she was awarded a well-deserved unanimous decision by scores of 96-94, 97-94 and 98-92.

The new world champion from Karlsruhe improved her impressive record to 16-0-1 (4). Voraberger falls to 16-3 (8), losing for the first time in four years and after fifteen straight victories.

In the main event, local hero Juergen Doberstein from nearby St. Ingbert, passed his biggest test to date when he successfully defended the WBF Intercontinental Super Middleweight crown against former WBF World Champion William Gare of South Africa.

In what turned out to be a very entertaining fight, the game challenger had some success with hard right hands that seemed to wobble Doberstein a few times, but the champion always came back strong.

In round ten Doberstein connected with a beautiful left-right combination which send Gare flat on his back, but the experienced South African managed to pull himself up at the last second and remarkably got through the last two rounds.

After the final bell ended round twelve, it was clear that Dobersten, now 15-1-1 (4), had passed his big test with flying colours, and he will have learned a lot from the questions asked by the old professor Gare, 27-17 (5). The scores were 118 – 109, 119-107 and 120-108.

In attendance at the Saarlandhalle were convention guest of honour, and former World Light Heavyweight Champion, Donny Lalonde, as well as WBF Champions Anne Sophie Mathis, Anne Sophie Da Costa, Gogi Knezevic, Lucia Morelli and Nikki Adler, among others.