MUNICH, 14 November 1998

. In the sold out arena of Circus Krone in Munich, American special guests Don Turner, the trainer of Evander Holyfield, and Ken Norton, a former heavyweight champion of the world, eyed the second boxing event in the capital city of Bavaria this year.

Oktay Urkal retained his WBC International title against Viktor Baranov

Turkish-German Oktay Urkal from Berlin made the first defense of his WBC International super lightweight title, when he skillfully outpointed the experienced Russian Vikor Baranov. The 28 year old Urkal, a silver medallist of the 1996 Olympic Games of Atlanta, completely outspeeded and outboxed his game challenger. Most observers at ringside thought that Urkal's win was much clearer than the official scores (117:113, 116:113, 116:114) indicated.

Oktay Urkal: 19-0 (7), 63.5 kg / 140 lbs.
Baranov: 19-13-3 (5), 63 kg / 139 lbs.

Wladimir Klitschko stopped Donnell Wingfield in 67 seconds

Overmatched American Donnell Wingfield didn't stand a chance against the undefeated Ukrainian heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko. Dwarfed by the 6 feet 7 model athlete, Wingfield was sent to the canvas by a left hook after one minute and was knocked unconcious at 1:07 into the first round by another left hook. Klitschko is currently ranked number 5 by the WBC and number 1 in Europe.

The two prominent observers at ringside, Don Turner and Ken Norton, were impressed of what they've seen. "Wladimir is very good", Ken Norton admitted, who beat Muhammad Ali in March of 1973. "He's tall, has a good reach. He's smart and doesn't get hit."

"When the Klitschko brothers will have done a few more fights they are right up there to fight anybody", Don Turner commented, who has trained Evander Holyfield and Larry Holmes - two of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time. "Wladimir is my favorite. He's young, he's got time to learn, he's got everything it takes to be a very good fighter. Wladimir can be one of the best fighters in the history of boxing if he just continues to learn."

Wladmir Klitschko: 24-0 (22), 105 kg / 231½ lbs.
Wingfield: 29-10-1 (15), 103 kg / 227 lbs.

Mario Veit outpointed Branko Sobot to win German title

Undefeated super middleweight Mario Veit (pronounced: "Fight") won the vacant International German title in his weight class by outpointing the tough Croatian Branko Sobot. Veit, who at 6 feet 4 is extremely tall for a super middleweight, had decisive height and reach advantages that he could use most of the time. Veit is currently ranked number 8 in Europe and number 5 in the WBO.

Mario Veit: 19-0 (10), 76.2 kg. / 168 lbs.
Sobot: 16-3 (9), 75.8 kg. / 167 lbs.

Heavyweight Kim Weber celebrated a successful comeback

Coming out of a devastating knockout loss to his countryman Mario Schiesser, Kim Weber celebrated a successful comeback, when he knocked out his American opponent Daniel Dino Salcedo at 2:35 into the second round.

Kim Weber: 24-1 (17), 100 kg / 220½ lbs.
Salcedo: 9-4-1 (3), 97.5 kg / 214 lbs.

Fabian Weber
International Press Spokesman
Universum Box-Promotion GmbH
Am Stadtrand 27
22047 Hamburg
Germany
Tel: +49 40 696559-0
Fax:+49 40 696559-50

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