APB 81 Kg Finals – Can Kennedy St Pierre complete an unlikely comeback and claim title glory against Ehsan Rouzbahani?
29 January 2015
#APB 81 Kg Sofia
The Light heavyweight (81 kg) division in AIBA Pro Boxing has been one of the most entertaining weight classes in the entire competition, and the Universiada Hall, Sofia hosts the APB Inaugural Title Match between 2-1 London 2012 Olympian Ehsan Rouzbahani against number one seed and Commonwealth Games silver medalist Kennedy St Pierre.
Iran’s Rouzbahani defeated Uzbekistan’s Oybek Mamazulunov in a very exciting match during the first week of APB action, but lost his second contest against Russia’s Nikita Ivanov.
With everything on the line in the Matches for Champions series, Rouzbahani produced perhaps the best win of his career as he defeated French undefeated professional boxer Mathieu Bauderlique, and claimed his place in the title match.
His opponent, Kennedy St Pierre is one of the most famous athletes from his native Mauritius, but the star lost his first two APB matches as he struggled to adjust to the six round format.
St Pierre was upset by Germany’s Serge Michel in the first week of action, and was then defeated in week two by Mathieu Bauderlique to leave his qualification chances slim.
However, the Mauritian displayed the mark of a potential champion in week three, as he sensationally knocked out the previously undefeated Russian Russia’s Nikita Ivanov in the fifth round of their bout.
In their title contest, Ehsan Rouzbahani may be a slight favourite due to his more comfortable nature in approaching the longer-round format.
St Pierre has lost two of his six round matches, and with the title match behind held over eight frames, has he got the stamina to successfully challenge?
One thing is for sure, it is going to be a very exciting bout.
