Hello boxing friends, FightFranchise readers and followers. I know it’s unusually late to report on an event, but until now personal commitments have delayed me.

Clearly it was no big event at the Karl Eckel Halle in Hessen, Germany, but it was still a very entertaining evening. Also, the night’s proceeds went to charity and Arena C.E.O and promoter of the event Ahmet Öner paid many of the opponents from his own pocket. In both main fights the comparison between heavyweight contenders Konstantin Airich 15-2-2 (12) and Juan Carlos Gomez 47-2 (36) was interesting.

Gomez’s last opponents was Alexander Kahl 15-6-1 (13), and this time it was Konstantin Airich’s turn. Alexander Kahl didn’t do well against Gomez but none of the experts expected any different. I was of the same opinion this time and, unsurprisingly, Konstantin Airich sent Kahl to the canvas twice in the opening round, before being rescued by the referee in the second. The explosiveness and precision of Airich surprised people though, especially if one considers how hard he had to work against Oleksiy Mazikin two fights ago, where Airich struggled to get a draw. The fact that Juan Carlos Gomez went on to blow Mazikin away in three rounds only two months later made it all the stranger.

Juan Carlos Gomez went in with the unknown 32-year-old Turk Oezcan Cetinkaya, 17-7-1 (11). It was a hand-picked opponent for Gomez, to allow the Cuban exile to continue his rebuilding process. The fight gave us no big surprises as Cetinkaya hid behind his high guard and looked to survive. Gomez was therefore allowed to shine with quick combinations, variety and good footwork. It remains to be seen however whether Gomez can shine as well against higher-class opponents as this fight taught us little. His weight issue is still the biggest problem, but if he can capture his old form, the present crisis in the heavyweight division will surely enable  Gomez to get the fights he craves, against the likes of Tomasz Adamek, Vladimir Klitschko and David Haye.

Arena Box-Promotion are steadily on the rise in Germany and Europe, and wonderful events like this will help very much. Despite a lack of real big names the event and the surroundings were magnificent, and fans got to see a great card for very little money. I would like to thank once again, on behalf of FightFranchise, Ahmed Öner and Arena press-chief Müllers Michaelis for a great night.

1. Arena C.E.O comments on JC Gomez signing with Universum
2. Juan Carlos Gomez returns on June 4th
3. Arena Championship Boxing 9/4/10