European Cruiserweight Champion Marco Huck (23-1, 18 KOs) is determined to get the new year off to a winning start as he defends his title against Geoffrey Battelo (18-0, 15 KOs) on Saturday night. “If you want to reach the top, you have to defeat the best fighters out there,” Huck said. “It will be a tough fight but I know that I am better than him and that is why I will leave the ring as the winner.”

It has been a busy week for the 24-year-old, who had a string of PR gigs scheduled. He commanded an ice-breaker in Berlin before a little cooking date at a famous pasta factory in Riesa. He also caught up with a playmate for a special photo shooting. “It is nice to get your mind on other things than boxing, especially in the week before the fight,” he said. “But of course you must not lose your focus or neglect practice.”

Challenger Battelo is full of confidence ahead of the meeting in East Germany. “For me this fight is a big chance I and will make the most of it. I have a lot of respect for Huck. Maybe my reach will give me an edge but I don´t want to speak too much about tactics right now. I am sure I will win.”

Needless to say, Ulli Wegner does not share the Belgian’s optimism. “I believe he is a little too optimistic,” said the coach. “We will attack him strongly on Saturday night. However, we know he is a good fighter and we will not underestimate him. It should be an exciting bout.”

In the co-featured main event, IBF Intecontinential Cruiserweight Champion Enad Licina (15-1, 9 KOs) takes on Jose Luis Herrera (16-4, 16 KOs). “As far as his future development is concerned, this will be a crucial fight for Enad,” said coach Manfred Wolke. “He has matured impressively as a person and as a fighter over the last couple of months. He has got the calmness of Henry Maske – he can deliver when it counts most.” Licina said he did not feel any pressure. “For me this is a normal fight,” he stated. “I will try to dominate my opponent.”

In the third title fight of the night, Alexander Abraham will defend his EE-EU Light-Middleweight title against Nikola Stevanovic.

Open Letter to Ricky Hatton

“I have learned that Ricky Hattons’ fight with Manny Pacquio is off. I would like nothing more than the opportunity to fight Ricky. Ricky is considered by many the best Jr. Welterweight in the world. I have been to two of his fights against my friends and fellow NYC fighters. I guarantee that 3rd time will not be the charm. I see many mistakes in Ricky’s game that I will capitalize on. It will be a holiday for my fans, and a day of rude awakening for my critics. And there is no Ricky wonderland in NYC.”, Dmitriy Salita

Middleweight prospect Edwin Rodriguez passes another test in Biloxi

Unbeaten middleweight prospect Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez received a B+ grade from his head trainer, Peter Manfredo, Sr., for the 2-time national amateur champion’s performance last Saturday night against veteran “Bad Ass” Brad Austin (8-6, 2 KOs) at the Beau Rivage Resort Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi.

In his first scheduled 8-round bout, Rodriguez floored Austin four times en route to a third-round stoppage of Austin on the off-televised portion of the HBO card, headlined by the Andre Berto-Luis Collazo WBC welterweight title fight.

“I was happy with my performance but I feel I could have done better,” Rodriguez said. “I hurt him in the first round and felt I should have stopped him then. But I got antsy trying to take him out. I went back to using the short punches that had hurt him. I just got caught up in the moment. I hurt him a few more times and I knew the knockout was coming. I just had to stop looking for it. I made a mistake but learned from it and that’s important. I was really excited to fight after working so hard for four months. All of the hard worked paid-off; I was able to perform the way I’m supposed to.”

The Dominican Republic-born Rodriguez (9-0, 6 KOs), fighting out of Worcester (MA), had taken four months off to concentrate on training and his imporvements showed in the ring. “He accomplished a lot of things that we worked on,” Manfredo said. “He’s really becoming a good pro fighter, switching over from a good amateur. He used his jab well, not only to set-up combinations, but to keep his opponent off balance. Austin had a good amateur background, eight wins as a pro, and his losses were to some good fighters. But he could never muster a threat against Edwin. He tried to take away Edwin’s jab in the second round by throwing wide right hooks, but Edwin adjusted with some good check-hooks. He fought a very good fight. Defensively, he was much better, not pulling away standing straight up. I give him a B+. I was extremely pleased with the outcome and what he did in the ring.”

Rodriguez’ manager, Larry Army, agreed 100-percent with Manfredo’s assessment. “Edwin looked great,” he commented. “Everything he worked on for those four months, he put together. I had seen streaks of brilliance and loads of potential from Edwin, but he had never put it all together in one fight until last Saturday night. He showed everybody a glimmer of what he can do in the future. This was the right show for us against a tough opponent. It was a great opportunity for Edwin, who picked apart Austin from the start. We’re hoping Edwin will be back in action at the end of February.”

Go online to www.edwinrodriguezboxing.com for more information about the 23-year-old Rodriguez.

Tony Jeffries suffers pro set back

Olympic bronze medallist Tony Jeffries has seen his deal with Sheffield based boxing promoter Dennis Hobson collapse. Hobson failed to secure a television deal for the 23-year-old.

Jeffries told Setanta Sports News he felt let down by what had happened. He said:

“I feel very disappointed. Dennis has been let down and that’s let me down. I thought I was going to be fighting in Sunderland on my debut. I was looking forward to it.

“I don’t know what to do. I’ve got no idea where I go next. It’s recent news, I only found out yesterday.”

Jeffries remains hopeful about what he can achieve in boxing in the future. He added:

“I’ve already had a couple of promoters on the phone that want to speak to me. It’s not all doom and gloom.

“I want to achieve big things in the professional game.”