APB Super Heavyweights Arjaoui and Nistor bid for mastery in Marrakesh
24 July 2015A magnificent evening of AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) Cycle I Round 2 action takes place on Friday night, when the giant Super Heavyweight (91+ kg) division make their mark on Marrakesh, Morocco.
From 22:30 (GMT +1), viewers around the world will be available to watch local favourite Mohammed Arjaoui (MAR) take on Mihai Nistor (ROU) live and free at https://www.youtube.com/user/AIBAproboxingTV.
There is a lot on the line for the winner of this bout, as the triumphant boxer will become the number one contender for APB Super Heavyweight Champion Erik Pfeifer (GER), while also earning a qualification quota for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the process.
Arjaoui is a tremendously courageous and resilient boxer, and won three of his first four APB bouts on points after several controlling performances.
He famously faced Erik Pfeifer in the inaugural APB Super Heavyweight World Title Bout back in January, but although the Moroccan fighter worked hard throughout the bout, the final scorecards read 78:74 across the board in favour of Pfeifer, who became the very first man in this competition to win a title.
Four-time Romanian National Champion Nistor defeated Magomed Omarov (RUS) in the last round, and the man who won the first ever match in APB is intent on making history once again.
Nistor lacks the experience of competing over the longer format however as his bout with Omarov was stopped early in the fourth round, while his fleet-footed African opponent has proven ability to fight through all eight rounds of significant matches.
An awkward southpaw, Nistor is relatively short for a Super Heavyweight, but uses his height as a frequently effective weapon when he fires off damaging shots from close range.
With supremely high stakes involved in the bout, the superbly loud Marrakesh crowd will cheer on their beloved Arjaoui as much as they can, but the resolute Nistor has the ability to soak up the pressure and calmly follow his tactics.
A second Super Heavyweight clash features on the undercard, where Ali Eren Demirezen (TUR) faces Istvan Bernath (HUN).
Demirezen sensationally stopped Tony Yoka (FRA) in his last match, while the powerful Bernath makes his APB debut in Morocco.
Match schedule:
- Ali DEMIREZEN (TUR) vs Istvan BERNATH (HUN)
- Mohammed ARJAOUI (MAR) vs Mihai NISTOR (ROM)
