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Double Trouble for Fischer and Knezevic

Posted on October 19 2009                                              Bookmark and Share
By: Pressrelease

         

 
 

It was a shocking week for sure for Fight Production, as both heavyweight Willi ‘De Ox’ Fischer and middleweight Gogi ‘Lionheart’ Knezevic had to call off their WBF ‘world’ title challenges against respective champions Francois Botha and Kreshnik Qato, scheduled for Dessau, Germany this coming Saturday, Oct. 24.

 

“It’s an unbelievable bad luck streak,” said manager Olaf Schroeder, “and my heart goes out to Willi and Gogi, who are suffering the most at the moment.” However, SES Boxing will still go ahead with the show, with Botha now defending against Cuban Pedro Carrion and Qato – in whose corner Schroeder is now free to work as a cutman – will put his crown on the line against Italian Fabio Liggieri.

First, it was Fischer, 37-6-1 (24 KO’s), who had to pull out after re-injuring his bizeps tendon, which was also the reason behind the 37-year-old’s cancellation of a shot at (interim) German champion Sebastian Köber early this year. Trainer Tom Leidenheimer reports:

 

“Willi continued sparring after the injury happened, because he was in complete denial about it, until he was in tears for pain. We are all devastated, completely devastated, because this was the fight we worked for the past two years. Willi’s whole comeback was about to culminate (with the chance against Botha).”

 

Now in therapy, the question marks about this, so far, successful comeback of Fischer are looming bigger than ever and manager Schroeder admitted that complete retirement might not be an excluded option.

 

Coming down with a bad case of sinus inflammation, Gogi Knezevic, 16-2-1 (7 KO’s), completed the double trouble a few days later.

 

“I would have boxed in any condition, that’s how much it means to me, but the doctor wouldn’t let me! They shattered my dream,” the Austro-Serb said before packing his bags and leaving his training camp in Serbia with his trainer Johann Senfter to head back home to Vienna.

 

Knezevic had just a good week earlier scored a knockout win and immediately afterwards went into camp for what should have been the biggest chance of his five-year professional career. His WBF title clash with Albanian champion Kreshnik Qato had raised many headlines on the Balkan for it’s ethic background with regards to the war between Albanians and Serbians 10 years ago and it would have been the biggest sporting event between those two nations (although Knezevic holds Austrian citizenship, he is not denying his roots) ever since.


 
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