By Erik Schmidt: World Boxing Organization light heavyweight champion Zsolt Erdei (30-0, 17 KOs) won a 12-round unanimous decision over challenger Yuri Barashian (25-5, 17 KOs) in a non-title defense at the Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. The final judges’ scores were 116-111, 117-110 and 116-111. Erdei, in what was perhaps the toughest opponent to date for him, took a lot of punishment from the hard-hitting Barashian despite getting the win.
Zsolt Erdei
Inkin/Balszay, Barashian/Erdei Results
By Simon Hirst: In a fight for the WBO super middleweight title, unbeaten Russian champion Denis Inkin was dethroned by Hungarian challenger Karoly Balszay in a unanimous decision in what could be seen as a shock result in the super middleweight division.
Inkin, who was making his first defence of his WBO title, stood toe to toe in an entertaining fight, and looked in the lead in the first six rounds by putting pressure on Balszay. However, Inkin allowed Balszay to fight his way back into contention and Balszay put him under pressure in the last few rounds with precise counter-punching that rocked Inkin to nick the fight 115–113, 116–112, 116-112.
Erdei vs. Barashian On January 10th
By Erik Schmidt: WBO light heavyweight champion Zsolt Erdei (29-0, 17 KOs) will be making his incredible 11th defense of his title on January 10th against Armenian Yuri Barashian (25-4, 17 KOs) in a 12-round bout at
Bordelandhalle, Magdeburg, in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. Erdei, 34, from Hungary and now living in Hamburg, Germany, has held onto the WBO light heavyweight belt for four long years, defending it 10 times since winning the title in January 2004 in a 12-round decision over Julio Gonzalez.
Erdei vs. Abron On Saturday Night
By Erik Schmidt: Undefeated WBO light heavyweight champion Zsolt Erdei (28-0, 17 KOs) makes his 10th defense of his title on Saturday night against American DeAndrey Abron (15-1, 10 KOs) at the Freiberger Arena, in Dresdan, Sachsen, Germany. Erdei, 33, originally from Budapest, Hungary, and now living and fighting out of Hamburg, Germany, has been nearly invincible since winning the WBO light heavyweight crown in January 2004 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Julio Cesar Gonzalez.
Since then, Erdei has mowed down his light heavyweight opposition, beating the likes of Hugo Hernan Garay, Paul Murdoch, Thomas Ulrich and Danny Santiago to name just a few. Most of Erdei’s opponents are hardly recognizable to most fans, which has kept him from making more of a name for himself than he should have considering the long period that he’s held the WBO title. Part of that has to be laid at the feet of Erdei himself, as he should have gone looking for more recognizable opponents during these years, someone like Glen Johnson, Chad Dawson, Roy Jones Jr. and Clinton Woods. Anyone of them would have gone a long way towards earning the 33 year-old Erdei more credibility on the world stage, and likely given him a chance at even bigger paydays than what he’s been getting while fighting in Germany.