By Eric Schmidt: Female flyweight boxing champion Susi Kentikian (19-0, 14 KOs) will put both her WBA Female flyweight and WIBF Womens International Boxing Federation flyweight titles on the line when she meets up with challenger Sarah Goodson (26-15-1, 9 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout on February 29th, at the Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, in Hamburg, Germany.
Goodson, a fighter that usually fights in the minimumweight division, will likely be at a decided disadvantage against the larger Kentikian, as she doesn’t have the power or the size, it would seem, to compete in this fight. This bout may end earlier, with Kentikian possibly stopping the over-matched Goodson by the 3rd or 4th round. It’s going to be tough for Goodson, only 4’10”, for she’s going to have to try and outwork the taller 5’1″ Kentikian, and hope to take control of the fight in the 2nd half of the bout, a time when Kentikian traditionally fades. However, just making that far will an accomplishment, since Goodson will be no doubt be taking tremendous punishment in the early rounds.
Kentikian, 20, is coming off a hard-fought title defense against Nadia Hokmi, whom she beat by a 10-round unanimous decision on December 7th. Kentikian had struggled earlier in the year with Hokmi, beating her by a controversial 10-round split decision on May 25th, 2007, a bout in which Kentikian build up a big lead earlier in the fight only to fade in the 2nd half as the taller, better seemingly better conditioned Hokmi came back and controlled most of the remaining rounds of the fight. However, Kentikian appeared to still win the fight by a close margin, despite what some fans have been saying about Hokmi having won the fight.
In the rematch, Kentikian appeared in much better condition, and landed the sharper punches throughout. The final scores – 97-95, 96-94 and 96-94 – do little to match how well Kentikian dominated the fight, as she controlled almost every round of the fight and looked sharp with her fast combinations, and big left-right hooks to the head.
Originally from Armenia, Kentikian has been living and fighting out of Germany since 1996, and is promoted by Spotlight boxing. Since winning the vacant WBA Female flyweight title with a 9th TKO of Carolina Alvarez in February 2007, Kentikian has successfully defended the title on four occasions. Along the way, she has become one of the most popular boxers in Germany.
Recently, she won the vacant WIBF Womens International Boxing Federation flyweight title with a win over Hokmi last December, a title long held by German boxer Regina Halmich, who retired this past year. During her career, Halmich had been the most successful and popular female boxer in Germany, and with her retirement that, naturally, carried over to teh increasingly popular Kentikian.