(AUG 22) On Saturday August 24,
2013, Ina Menzer of Germany will enter her farewell-fight when
she takes on fellow former world champion Goda Dailydaite for
the World Boxing Federation (WBF) Womens World Featherweight
Interim title at the Warsteiner Hockeypark in hometown
Moenchengladbach.
The WBF World championship main event, and part of an
interesting undercard featuring former world champions Vitali
Tajbert and Dmitri sartison, will be aired live to millions of
viewers by Europe’s biggest sports broadcaster Eurosport.
Still only 32 years old, Menzer, 30-1 (11), made her pro debut
in 2004 and won her first world championship the following year.
Over the course of the next five years she made an astonishing
fifteen (!) successful defenses, and even added two more world
titles to her collection, before finally losing a decision to
Canadian Jeannine Garside in July 2010.
Menzer has since put together a four-fight winning streak, and
is now aiming to go out in a blaze of glory by winning her
fourth world championship against the undefeated Dailydaite, 8-0
(2). But, while she is full of admiration for her opponent,
Dailydaite is certain she will be able to defeat the much more
experienced Menzer:
“Ina Menzer is a role model for me. I watched most of her fights
on TV”, Dailydaite recently told German media. “But I feel that
I have a good chance to win on Saturday, and I don’t have the
same kind of pressure on me that Ina has. Mentally I am much
more free, and I am confident I can win.”
From Dortmund, Dailydaite is just over three years into her
professional career, and has done well to put herself in
position for a German Super-Fight such as this one. In April
2012 she won the vacant WBF World Featherweight title against
Arleta Krausova from the Czech Republic, a title she never lost
in the ring.
Now she has a chance to become a two-time WBF Champion, and it
is no secret how she plans to go about the difficult task of
defeating her role model:
“Technically we are both very good, but I see my advantage as
being in conditioning. I am younger, in top shape, and in the
tenth round I will be able to be just as active as in the first
round”, said Dailydaite, who has been in training camp for ten
weeks with three sessions a day.
It remains to be seen if her tough preparations will be enough
to win and emerge as a new German boxing superstar, or if the
accomplished and established superstar, Menzer, will be able to
ride into the sunset a world champion again.
“Das Heimspiel”, the Ina Menzer vs. Goda Dailydaite WBF Womens
World Featherweight Interim title fight, will be promoted by
Team Menzer.