Women's Boxing: Susianna (Susi) Kentikian Biography

5'1" flyweight Susianna "Susi" Kentikian was born Syuzanna Levonovna Kentikyan on September 11, 1987 in Jerevan, Armenia and fights out of Hamburg, Germany.

She went to Germany with her family in 1996, seeking asylum from the civil war in Armenia, under constant threat of expulsion. More than once the family was dragged out of bed by the German police in the middle of the night and transported to the airport for deportation. Fortunately actual expulsion was avoided through the intervention, of among others, Susianna's boxing trainer Frank Rieth.

Kentikian first encountered boxing when she accompanied her brother Mikael to a boxing club. Not content just to watch him train, Susi learned to box herself and won the Hamburg Championships for juniors from 2001 to 2004, as well as several North German amateur championships.

She won a gold medal in the featherweight division at the 2004 International German Women's Amateur Championships by beating Tasheena Bugar 27-19 in the semi-final and Alessandra Sieber by 27-5 in the final. She was also named best technical boxer in the junior division at these championships.

As an amateur, Susianna had been restricted to boxing in Hamburg by her family's status as asylum seekers. She turned pro so that her boxing income could be considered as a factor in obtaining a residence permit. Her final record in the amateurs was an impressive 24-1-0.

On January 15, 2005 at Bördelandhalle, Magdeburg, Germany Susianna (112 lbs) won her pro debut with a four-round unanimous (40-36) decision over Iliana Boneva (5'3", 112½ lbs) of Bulgaria.

On February 26, 2005 at Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany Susianna (115¾ lbs) knocked out Debbie Lohmaier Paterok (5' 0½", 115¾ lbs) of Oldenburg, Germany with a hard punch to the head at 1:25 in the first round of a scheduled four-rounder. Lohmaier, who had not fought in almost three years, fell to 1-4-0 (0 KOs) with the loss

On March 25, 2005 at Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany Susianna (114¾ lbs) TKO'd Lucie Hornakova (114¼ lbs) of Košice, Slovakia at 0:37 into the first round of a scheduled four-rounder (see photo). Hornakova fell to 0-2 with the loss.

On May 7, 2006 at the Volkswagenhalle in Braunschweig, Germany, Susianna (107¾ lbs) TKO'd debut fighter Juliia Vlasenko (104¾ lbs) of Slovakia in the third round of a scheduled four-rounder. The bout was stopped when Vlasenko turned her back on Kentikian after taking a combination.

On June 4, 2006 at Ballhaus, Aschersleben, Staßfurt, Germany Susianna TKO'd pro debut fighter Albena Atseva of Sofia, Bulgaria at 1:33 in the second round of a scheduled six-rounder.

On July 2, 2005 in Hamburg, Germany, Susianna (108 lbs) made a short night of it when she stopped Simona Pencakova of Medzev, Slovakia at 1:14 into the second round by TKO. Pencakova fell to 0-1-1.

On September 17, 2005 at Harzlandhalle in Ilsenburg, Germany, Susianna TKO'd Renata Vesecka of the Czech Republic at 0:58 in the fourth round. Vesecka fell to 2-7-0 (2 KO's).

On October 29, 2005 at TURM Erlebnis City in Orianenburg, Germany, Susianna TKO'd Svetla Taskova of Sofia, Bulgaria at 1:08 in the second round of a scheduled six rounder. Taskova fell to 4-12-1 (1 KO) with the loss.

On December 13, 2005 at Freizeit Arena in Sölden, Tirol, Austria, Susianna (107½ lbs) won a six-round unanimous (60-54 x3) decision over debut fighter Maria Krivoshapkina of Russia.

Kentikian was named WBAN's Rookie of the Year for 2005.

On January 14, 2006 at Ballhaus-Arena in Aschersleben, Staßfurt, Germany, in front of a sold-out arena, Susianna TKO'd pro debut fighter Emilina Metodieva of Bulgaria in the fourth round of a scheduled six-rounder.

Susi vs. Evgenia Zablotskaja

On April 15, 2006 at the Maritim Hotel in Magdeburg, Germany, Susianna returned to the ring after a three-month layoff following surgery to her right elbow. According to WBAN correspondent Torben Lodberg, "Her performance left nobody in doubt that she is back at full strength. Her opponent, Evgenia Zablotskaja of Russia made her pro debut, after a good amateur career. Although she had a distinctive height and reach advantage, it couldn't prevent her from being "run over" by a very aggressive Kentikian, who used her speed to outbox the taller opponent. After 1:32 into the second round Zablotskaja's corner threw the towel to prevent further punishment."

On July 28, 2006 at Sportschule Sachenwald near Hamburg, Germany, Susianna (112 lbs) won a 10-round unanimous (98-92,98-92,99-91) decision over Daniela Graf (110½ lbs) of Karlsruhe for the International German title. Fought in 100-degree heat and high humidity that had brought most of Europe to a standstill, the 18-year-old (dubbed 'The Pitbull' by her sparring partners) drove Graf all round the ring for twenty minutes without ever quite getting a grip. "It was very hot," explained Kentikian. "As early as the first round, I was fighting for breath." According to WBAN correspondent Torben Lodberg, "Although the score may suggest a one sided fight, this was by no means the case. Daniela Graf came well prepared for Kentikian's fighting style, and managed to put up a much better defence, than Kentikian's previous 11 opponents - nine of who were stopped before time. Graf, who fought 10 rounds against Julia Sahin in October of last year, also managed to put Kentikian under pressure throughout the bout. Kentikian probably faced more incoming fire than in her in all her previous fights put together. But Kentikian's fast hands and excellent footwork made the difference in this fight. Kentikian piled up points on good combinations throughout the bout, and her swift body movements made Graf miss a lot of punches. Daniela Graf had her best moments when she managed to get on the inside." Graf fell to 3-5-1 with the loss.

On September 9, 2006 at the Bördelandhalle in Magdeburg, Germany, Susianna (112 lbs) won the WIBF Intercontinental Flyweight title with a fourth-round TKO over Maribel Zurita (111¼ lbs) of San Antonio, Texas, who fell to 8-8-1 (1 KO) with the loss. The fight was stopped when Zurita was cut, with some controversy over whether it was by an accidental head-butt or by a legal blow.

On November 21, 2006 at the Universum Gym in Hamburg, Germany, Susianna (112 lbs) won by a TKO at 1:35 in the fourth round over Maja Frenzel (111¼ lbs) of Karlsruhe, Germany, defending the WIBF Intercontinental Flyweight title. Frenzel fell to 8-6-2 (1 KO) with the loss.

On February 16, 2007 at the Fight Night Arena in Köln, Germany, Susianna ( lbs) won the vacant WBA Flyweight title with TKO at o:27 in the ninth-round over previously unbeaten Carolina Alvarez ( lbs) of Venezuela. As reported by Wolfgang Schiffbauer of Fightnews.com, "Susianna Kentikian captured the vacant WBA Female Flyweight title by ninth round TKO against tough but completely outclassed Carolina Alvarez from Venezuela. Alvarez was very wild with her punches, had nearly no defense and was unable to get away from Kentikian’s hard counters. Kentikian couldn’t miss with her punches during the first five rounds. In the sixth, however, Alvarez had some success as she was able to corner Kentikian and land a good right hand later in the round. But still, Kentikian won the round because she was way more effective with her punches. Kentikian showed good ring generalship, very good reflexes and great stamina. Alvarez made it a difficult fight because of her wild style and her warrior mentality but was no match for Kentikian. Alvarez tried to turn the page in the eighth but Kentikian landed more clean punches. In the ninth, finally, the referee stopped the bout as Alvarez was once again taking everything thrown by Kentikian." Several commentators were puzzled by the reason for the stoppage, however, as Alvarez did not seem to be in any greater difficulty in the ninth than in earlier rounds. Alvarez fell to 8-1-1 (4 KO's).

On March 30, 2007 at Kölner Arena, Köln, Germany, a crowd of 19,500 saw Susianna (112 lbs) TKO Marie Jose Nunez Anchorena of Asunción, Paraguay at 0:50 in the third round defending her WBA Flyweight belt. According to WBAN correspondent Torben L., "Anchorena turned out to be far too open for a class act like Kentikian. The Armenian born Kentikian was in control right from the start of the first round, although she began it at slower pace than usual. Anchorena paid for her sloppy defence 40 seconds into the second round, when she was sent to the floor by a hard right hand from Kentikian. She survived the round, but the writing was on the wall. The punishment continued in the 3rd round, and the referee called a halt to the fight 50 seconds into the round, when Kentikian had Anchorena against the ropes and peppered her with a combination of 4 to 5 hard blows, without anything coming back. So it turned out to be an easy day at the office for the WBA champion; probably too easy for a world championship fight." Anchorena fell to 5-2-0 (3 KOs).

On May 25, 2007 at the Fight Night Arena in Köln, Germany, Susianna (112 lbs) won a controversial ten-round split (97-93,98-92,93-97) decision over Nadia Hokmi (111 lbs) of Strasbourg, France for the WBA Flyweight title. Kentikian started better then appeared to go into a lull in the middle of the fight, before raising her game again in the final rounds.

Unlike Susi's earlier opponents, Hokmi did not let Kentikian settle down and wasn't intimidated by her always-aggressive style. Kentikian improved to 17-0 with this win.

Susi Kentikian stopped Shanee Martin in September 2007

On September 7, 2007 in Düsseldorf, Germany, Susianna Kentikian successfully defended her WBA Flyweight title when she TKO'd Shanee Martin of Colchester, England in the third round. Susianna dominated the fight and totally negated Martin's height and reach advantages with her crisp punching and aggressiveness. Martin was bleeding from her nose after the second round and again when the bout was stopped in the third. According to WBAN reporter Torben L., "Martin was unable to capitalise on her reach advantage. Throughout the first round Kentikian stood her ground, when Martin came forward. She was able to dodge most of the Englishwoman's jabs and countered with her fast combinations, both high and low. Kentikian sustained a cut over her left eye late in the round, presumably caused by a clash of heads. Round 2 followed the same pattern. Martin tried to keep Kentikian at bay with her jabs, but was unable to deter her smaller opponent, who found and punished the slightest openings in Martin's defence. Kentikian frustrated Martin with double jabs, hooks and uppercuts coming from all angles, and as the round progressed it became abundantly clear that Martin was out of her depth. Kentikian continued the chase in round 3 and caught Martin with some powerful punches during the first part of the round. The end for the brave English girl came 1 minute into the round when Kentikian caught her with a vicious right to the chin, that sent her to the canvas. Martin got up on the count of four; she raised her gloves indicating, that she was ready to continue, but the Italian referee decided that he had seen enough and stopped the fight." Martin fell to 8-4-0 (4 KOs).

On December 7, 2007 at Alsterdorfer Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany, Susi retained her WBA Flyweight Title and gained the WIBF Flyweight Belt recently vacated by Regina Halmich, with a 10-round unanimous decision over Nadia Hokmi of France. The judges scored the bout 97-94, 96-94 and 97-95 for Kentikian. WBAN correspondent Torben L. reported that "Particularly in the first rounds, the home town girl succeeded with combinations to the body of the taller Frenchwoman, often ending with one or two blows to the head once the guards came down. Hokmi scored most with her left jab, and looked best when she was able to keep the aggressive Kentikian at length. The good skills of Hockmi became evident when she was under pressure on the ropes. Susi Kentikian has stopped many of her former opponents, when she managed to catch them on the ropes and peppering them with punches from all angles. But Hockmi's good defensive skills enabled her to weather the storm and only let fairly few punches slip through her guard, when Kentikian had her backed up against the ropes. Kentikian's quick reflexes made her (a) difficult target for Hokmi, while her fast hands found their target frequently and adding up on the scorecards. But it was far from one-way traffic. Hokmi got through with some telling right hands as well as her left jab, and looked especially strong in the 5th and 8th round. Kentikian suffered a small cut over her left eye in the ninth round, while Hokmi was bleeding from the nose throughout most of the fight." Hockmi fell to 8-6-1 (5 KOs).

On February 29, 2008 at the Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany, Susi (112 lbs) TKO’d Sarah Goodson (110 lbs) of Arkansas, USA at 0:57 in the third round of a scheduled 10-rounder for the WBA and WIBF Flyweight belts. According to WBAN correspondent Torben L., "Round one started fairly slow for Kentikian's standards. The Hamburg girl did give some examples of her skill with beautiful combinations, but she seemed to hold back. Goodson had little luck with her attempts to connect, and usually was punished for leaving herself too open, when she did try. Kentikian stayed in control in round two, which also began relatively slow. The pressure was increased in the middle of the round, and Goodson took a series of punches both high and low, from the world champion. Again Kentikian took her foot off the speeder, and the round ended relatively quiet.At the end of round three, Goodson was caught by a perfectly delivered right uppercut from Kentikian, and this time she continued the pressure. Backed up against the ropes, Goodson's only answer was covering up her face, which gave Kentikian the opportunity to work the body of her completely over challenged opponent. The referee stopped the fight." Kentikian improved to 20-0-0 (15 KOs) with the win while Goodson fell to 26-16-1 (9 KOs).

On May 10, 2008 at Sporthalle Brandberge in Halle an der Saale, Germany Susianna Kentikian (112 lbs) won a stunning TKO at 1:53 of the first round over Mary Elizabeth Ortega (110¼ lbs) of the United States defending the WBA / WIBF world Flyweight titles. As reported by WBAN correspondent Torben L., "Kentikian caught Ortega with a left-right combination that sent Ortega to the floor 50 seconds into the round. 20 seconds later Kentikian hit the target with another hard right hand, that made Ortega's legs buckle, but she managed to stay on her feet, much to the surprise for Kentikian who was already heading for the neutral corner. The relentless attack from Kentikian continued, and Ortega had to take another 8 count after being knocked down about 90 seconds into the round. She was visibly shaken when she got off the floor the second time, but the referee let the fight go on, keeping a close eye on Ortega. However, he decided to stop the fight 10 seconds before the end of the round, after Ortega was backed up against the rope, unable to block much of the incoming fire. The United States boxer immediately protested against the stoppage---although her corner did not seem to join in the protests. Most boxing folks had expected a long and hard fought fight that could go either way. That includes the former WIBF world champion Regina Halmich who co-hosted the event, who predicted very hard work for Kentikian. The world champion stated in the post fight interview, that she had anticipated the fight to go the distance, but she was obviously pleased with the way it turned out." Video--You Tube Fight Report with photos Ortega fell to 30-5-2 (8 KO's).

Kentikian was awarded WBAN Fighter of the Month for June 2008 on the strength of this victory.

On August 30, 2008 at Burg-Waechter Castello in Düsseldorf, Germany, Susianna Kentikian (111¾ lbs) had to dig deep to retain her WBA and WIBF Flyweight titles against a very determined and top fit Hagar Shmoulefeld Finer (110 lbs) of Israel. According to WBAN's correspondent, Kentikian had problems coping with the unorthodox and aggressive boxing style of Shmoulefeld Finer. Kentikian usually goes forward and controls the action in her fights, but the experienced Israeli didn't allow her to do that. Finer kept Kentikian busy in the early rounds, and her good defense prevented the champion from doing much damage with her fast combinations. Kentikian had difficulty finding the range, especially in the first half of the fight, and probably gave two or three of the first five rounds away to the challenger. The second half of the fight saw Kentikian standing her ground and seeking to fight inside, instead of going backwards and counter boxing Shmoulefeld Finer. This eliminated the reach advantage of the taller Shmoulefeld, and Kentikian's combinations began to work. The champion got through with some telling punches, but they hardly showed any effect on the game Shmoulefeld. The last three rounds were toe to toe, and although both fighters showed signs of fatigue, it looked as if the larger number of telling punches from the champion had taken its toll on the Israeli fighting machine. The judges scored the fight 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91, all in favor of Kentikian. Finer slipped to 17-7-3 (4 KO's).

On December 5, 2008 at Sporthalle Brandberge in Halle an der Salle, Germany, Susi (111½ lbs) defended her WBA and WIBF flyweight titles with a ten-round unanimous (98-92,98-92,99-91)decision over her sometime sparring partner Anastasia Toktaulova (110½ lbs) of Russia. According to WBAN correspondent Torben L., "Kentikian usually tears into her opponents from the first bell, but she made a fairly slow start against Toktaulova. She controlled the centre of the ring, and only displayed some of her fireworks in the last third of the round. Toktaulova used her footwork to keep herself out of harms way, and was also able to make her mark with some telling punches. The picture repeated itself in the following rounds. Toktaulova succeeded in keeping Kentikian at bay, using her reach advantage, but suffered when Kentikian managed to get in close, and throw her combinations. The pace went up in Round five, when the challenger came forward right from the start. She succeeded in catching Kentikian with some good right hands, but Kentikian tended to get through with one or two more punches than Toktaulova in the close up exchanges that ensued later in the round. Kentikian increased the pressure over the next four rounds - no doubt chasing the knock out she had predicted - but the Russian refused to let herself be intimidated by the aggressive 10 year younger world champion. Toktaulova took the some hard punches, but kept fighting back, and used her experience and ring craft to stay in the fight. The 10th round was a toe to toe battle, in which Kentikian showed why she is the world champion, displaying her punching repertoire, speed and not least her fighting heart." Kentikian improved to 23-0 (16 KO's) with the win while Toktaulova fell to 13-10 (2 KO's).

WBAN named Susi Kentikian its Top European Boxer of the Year for 2008.

On March 20, 2009 at Sporthalle Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany, Susi (111½ lbs) won a clear 10-round unanimous (100-90,100-90,100-91) decision over Elena Reid (112 lbs) of Arizona, defending the WBA and WIBF Flyweight titles. According to WBAN correspondent Torben L.: "Elena Reid was far from her former glory in last night's challenge for the WBA-WIBF Flyweight titles against Susi Kentikian. The experienced Reid seemed passive and without a game plan, or, if she had one, unable to carry it out. Kentikian took control from the first bell, and didn't have much trouble getting through the American's very ineffective guard. Reid showed little imitative and was too slow to catch her younger opponent. She received quite a punishment throughout the 10 rounds, as Kentikian got through with her combinations without much difficulty. Reid proved she is no quitter in the ring, and she absorbed everything the hard punching champion threw at her." The 21-year-old Kentikian improved her pro record to 24-0-0 (16 KOs) while dropping the 27-year-old Reid's to 19-5-6 (5 KOs).

On July 4, 2009 at Color Line Arena in Hamburg, Germany
Susi Kentikian (111¾ lbs) remained undefeated when she easily defeated challenger Carolina Gutierrez Gaite (111½ lbs) of Córdoba, Argentina by a 10-round unanimous (100-90) decision. Kentikian was defending her WBA and WIBF titles. Kentikian improved to 25-0-0 (16 KOs) while Gutierrez Gaite fell to 15-2 (11 KO's).

On October 10, 2009 at Stadthalle in Rostock, Germany, Susi Kentikian (111¾ lbs) again remained undefeated when she won a 10-round unanimous (98-92,96-94,97-93) decision over WIBF Junior Flyweight champion Hulya Sahin (110¾ lbs) of Cologne, Germany. Kentikian had some problems with Sahin’s speed and power throughout the fight but scored with frequent flurries of punches that kept the 35-year-old Sahin covering up in peek-a-boo stance despite early success with power shots. For several mid-fight rounds, Kentikian had problems maintaining the work rate necessary to keep Sahin thinking about defense but she was able to ramp up her effort for toe to toe action in the late rounds to earn an edge on the scorecards. Kentikian improved to 26-0-0 (16 KOs) while Sahin fell to 20-1 (2 KO's) with her first professional loss.

On April 24, 2010 at Alster Sporthalle in Hamburg, Germany
Susi Kentikian (110½ lbs) won a controversial split (96-94, 96-94. 95-96) decision over Nadia Raoui (110 lbs) of Herne, Germany for the WBA, WBO and WIBF Flyweight titles. The fight, which was the Main Event and shown live on ZDF was fought at an extremely high pace and was one of the best women's bouts ever seen in Germany, according to reports received by WBAN. Kentikian appeared to struggle in many rounds as she was outpunched and outlanded by the aggressive Raoui's cleaner and straighter shots, but she landed enough of her own to persuade two judges to award her a close decision. That decision advanced Kentikian's record to 27-0 (16 KO's) while dropping Raoui's to 11-1-1 (3 KO's).
[Video]

On July 17, 2010 at the Sport and Congress Center in Schwerin, Germany Susi Kentikian (112 lbs) and Arely Mucino (111¼ lbs) of Mexico fought to a "no Contest", ending at 0:12 in the third round of a scheduled ten-rounder for the WIBF, WBA and WBO Flyweight titles . The fight was stopped due to an unintentional head butt that injured Kentikian. The judges' scores at the time of the stoppage were 19-19, 19-19, and 18-20 (for Mucino).
[Video] [Photo of injury]

On March 28, 2011 at the Universum Gym in Wandsbek, Hamburg, Germany, Susi Kentikian (111½ lbs) won a ten-round unanimous decision over Ana Fabiola Arrazola (111¾ lbs) of Tlalnepantla, México defending the WIBF Flyweight title. Arrazola dropped to 19-6-3 (16 KO's) while Kentikian progressed to 28-0 (16 KO's).

Kentikian switched from Universum to the Magdeburg based SES Boxing, after Universum lost its TV contract with ZDF. SES provided line streaming video coverage of Kentikian's fight with Arrazola at bilde.de.

On October 22, 2011 at Brandenburg Halle in Frankfurt, Germany, Susi Kentikian (111¼ lbs) won a clear ten-round unanimous (100-90 x 3) decision over 19-year old Teeraporn Pannimit (5'0", 110¾ lbs) from Ayutthaya, Thailand for the WBA, WBO and WIBF Flyweight titles. Kentikian became more aggressive against the durable but overmatched Pannimit as the fight progressed and seemed on the verge of stopping her late in the fight. Kentikian improved to 29-0 (16 KO's) while Pannimit, who has lost all three of her fights outside Thailand, fell to 14-4 (5 KO's).

Kentikian vs McMorrow taken by Klaus Frevert
Kentikian vs McMorrow in May 2012
© copyrighted photo by Klaus Frevert / boxfotograf.de

On May 16, 2012 at the Brandenburg Halle in Frankfurt, Germany, Melissa McMorrow (111¼ lbs) of San Francisco, California, USA won a ten-round majority (95-95,96-94,96-94) decision over Susi Kentikian (112 lbs) for the WBA, WBO and WIBF Flyweight titles. McMorrow won the opening rounds with her consistent attack and relentless combination punching, then held off a determined comeback by an increasingly aggressive Kentikian, who said in a post-fight interview: "I am very very sad. Melissa was a lot of pressure. I did not think that I laid back. I want a rematch." Kentikian showed obvious displeasure with the verdict (the draw was called by the referee while both ringside judges had scored the affair narrowly for the visitor who had set the early pace of the fight), McMorrow improved her record to 7-3-3 (0 KO's) with the win while Kentikian dropped to 29-1 (16 KO's). [Video]

On December 1, 2012 at Burg-Waechter Castello in Düsseldorf, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, Carina Moreno (112 lbs) of Watsonville, California won a ten-round split (96-94,96-94,93-97) decision over Susi Kentikian (111 lbs) for the WBA Flyweight title. Former world champion Yvonne Caples, who now lives in Germany, reported to WBAN that: "Carina used a quick double jab to frustrate Susi and kept a steady barrage of punches coming. Although every punch that Susi landed was punctuated by the crowd’s cheers, Carina answered with 4-5 punches." Moreno, who had lost four of her previous five fights, improved her record to 23-5-0 (6 KO's) with this win. [Full report and video].

On February 1, 2013 at the SS Dome in Düsseldorf, Germany, Susi Kentikian returned to the winner's circle with a ten-round unanimous (99-90½,98-93,97½-92) decision over Sanae Jah of Belgium for the interim WBA Flyweight title. Kentikian moved her record to 30-2 (16 KO's) with the win while Jah fell to 7-1-0 (2 KO's).

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