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Switzerland has a new world
champion, after 26-year-old
unbeaten Zino Meuli, 13-0 (6),
won the World Boxing Federation
(WBF) World Welterweight title
on Wednesday night, December 26,
at the Bodensee-Arena in
Kreuzlingen.
Following in the footsteps of
prominent names such as Greg
Haugen, James Hare and Humberto
Soto, Meuli captured the vacant
crown with a hard-fought
majority decision over Josef
Zahradnik, 10-1 (5), from the
Czech Republic.
Meuli started well, using his
longer reach to keep the
aggressive Zahradnik at bay
while connecting with well-timed
straight punches. Halfway
through a very competitive fight
it appeared that the local man
had gained control, but the
visitor never gave up and
finished stronger.
Zahradnik did well in the
closing stages to get in close
and land with hooks to body and
head, but Meuli showed great
will and determination by coming
back in spurts to win enough
rounds in the second half,
eventually emerging as a
deserved winner.
Swiss Judge Joerg Mangott saw
the fight completely even at
114-114, but he was overruled by
115-113 and 116-112 scores in
favour of Meuli from Germany´s
Alexander Plumanns and Howard
Goldberg from South Africa.
World Boxing Federation (WBF)
President Goldberg, a veteran of
over one-hundred world title
fights as a judge and referee
but in Switzerland for WBF
meetings, stepped in on short
notice to save the day when
another judge fell out.
Also on December 26, Abdallah
Paziwapazi scored a sixth round
knockout of former WBF World
Champion Francis Cheka in a
local grudge-match to win the
vacant WBF Intercontinental
Super Middleweight title in Dar
Es Salaam, Tanzania.
Still only twenty-five years old
and on a nine-bout
unbeaten-streak, Pazawapazi is
coming into his own and proving
to be a very dangerous puncher,
taking his professional record
to 25-6-1 (22). Cheka (36), who
also held the WBF
Intercontinental title in 2016,
drops to 34-13-2 (18).
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