(AUG 3) The historical
first bout on Norwegian soil since 1981 will be headlined by a
rematch of «The fight of the century» in female boxing, as
french Anne Sophie Mathis (27-3-1) was announced as opponent for
"The First Lady" Cecilia Braekhus.
The two fighters also met in
Denmark in September 2012, where Braekhus (record of 28-0) won a
close and spectacular 10-rounder on an unanimous decision.
The fight was considered to be between the two greatest female
fighters at that time, rising a huge interest in Europe, and
also in Braekhus` home country Norway. Nearly 1/5 of the
Norwegian population was glued to their tv-screens as their
biggest sports celebrity fought Mathis.
Now they will meet again in "The Homecoming" on October 1st in
Oslo, where Braekhus titles (WBA, WBC, WBO, IBF and IBO) in
welterweight will be on stake.
*Mathis was the only name big enough to top a historical night
like
this. This is the Worlds greatest puncher versus the Worlds
greatest
technical and tactical boxer. She is the toughest opponent I
have met, and I could have gone for something easier to make
this a «safe
homecoming». But in this sport you can not make history by being
defensive, says Braekhus.
Mathis is by many considered to be «the female Mike Tyson» with
an impressive number of 23 victories by knock-out, out of a
total of 27.
"I am more than a knock-out boxer. I have a heavy shot that
stuns and that hurts. I know people compare me to Mike Tyson
which is quite pleasant as comparison because I have always been
a a fan of him", says Mathis.
She is comparing her fight against Braekhus with some of the
biggest fights of all times - among them the legendary meets
between Ali and Frazier.
"Ali vs Frazier was of course a bigger event when it comes to
media
attention, but seen from a sporting perspective this is among
the
greatest female fights that has ever been. Braekhus is bringing
five
belts to this fight, and that has never happened before", says
Mathis.
Her recent losses has been controversy. Her last fight was set
to "NC" after opponent Oxandia Castillo failed a drugtest. What
seemed to be a clear KO-victory over German-based boxer
Christina Hammer ended up as a disqualification for hit to the
back of the head, but was later overruled after protests by
Mathis` management.
Mathis is also known for knocking Holly Holm cold when she was
at her very best, but lost the rematch in Holms hometown on
points.
The fight on October 1st in a sold-out Oslo Spektrum Arena will
be shown on TV3, and is expected to break all former
viewer-records.