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It
was in the cards that the
challenge of Irma Balijagic
Adler could easily be the
toughest fight to date for World
Boxing Federation (WBF) Women’s
World Lightweight Champion
Nicole Wesner, and this was
exactly the case when they
clashed on Sunday night at the
Markthalle in Wismar, Germany.
Making her first defense of the
title she won last December in
her adopted home-country of
Austria, Wesner got off to a
good start and won the early
rounds. At that point she looked
the more skilled and focused
boxer, and landed more than her
game adversary from Bosnia &
Herzegovina.
But the theme of the fight was
set already in the first stanza,
when an unintentional head-clash
almost ruled out Adler. In the
second it was the other way
around, as a terrible clash hurt
the nose of Wesner and again
almost ended the fight.
The head-clashes continued
throughout the fight, and in
round seven both boxers were
deducted a point by referee
Goran Filipovic. At this stage
of the bout, the fight had
shifted in Adler´s favour and
Wesner looked to be in deep
water, fighting purely on
instinct and will-power to
survive.
Adler repeatedly landed big
shots, but the champion showed
what she is made of by refusing
to go down. A few times it
looked as if she was only one
punch away from a knockout
defeat, but Wesner stayed
upright and incredibly Adler was
herself too tired to land the
finisher.
In the end, the early work
proved to be enough for Wesner
who won a close unanimous
decision. Judges Rosario Triolo,
Ruben Zaburov and Arnold Golger
all had her ahead after ten
rounds, scoring the dramatic
encounter 95-93, 97-95 and 97-92
for the defending champion.
Wesner improved her undefeated
professional record to 11-0 (5),
while former Featherweight and
Super Featherweight world
titlist Adler drops to 15-6 (8).
The fight was promoted by
Wesner, in cooperation with PSP
Boxteam.
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