On Saturday (November 14), cruiserweight boxers Roman Fress and Armend Xhoxhaj will face off for the third time at the SES Boxing Gala in Magdeburg.
“The Grand Finale”—that’s how SES Boxing is billing the bout between Roman Fress and Armend Xhoxhaj. On Saturday (November 14), the two cruiserweights will face off in the ring for the third time at the Magdeburg Exhibition Hall. Xhoxhaj won their first bout in May 2022 by split decision. In May of this year, the rivals faced off again in a “split decision”—but this time, it ended in a draw.
Now, WBO Intercontinental Champion Fress (23-1-1, 13 KOs) and WBO European Champion Xhoxhaj (23-4-1, 12 KOs) will face off once again as part of the SES Boxing Gala. And they want to finally settle the score once and for all! “I’ll keep it short and sweet this time,” Fress said at the press conference. “A draw didn’t help anyone; we need a definitive outcome now. It’s certain to be another tough, exciting fight. One thing is also clear—I’m going to do everything differently this time!”
World Championship Bout on the Line for the Winner
But Xhoxhaj disagrees. “Saturday is the real deal. It won’t go past six rounds,” predicts the Kosovo native. “Enough talk has been done. I’m in shape, I’m ready. Set up a ring right here and now—we can start immediately. But if it’s a draw, I’d like to see a rule change: both boxers have to keep going until a decision is reached.”
Promoter Ulf Steinforth is also eagerly anticipating Saturday’s “all-or-nothing” showdown. He promises: “Ourtwo cruiserweights, Roman Fress and Armend Xhoxhaj, are ranked number one and ten by the WBO, and after the fight, I’m flying to the U.S. for the WBO Convention. I’ll support the winner so he can get a world title fight as soon as possible.”
The fight card features seven additional bouts, including the title fight between Ole Rätzel and Ilias Kallouch. The two light middleweights will battle it out over ten rounds for the German championship in their weight class.
The SES Boxing Gala begins on November 14 at 6:30 p.m.; MDR will broadcast it on its program “Sport im Osten – Boxen live” starting at 10:45 p.m. In addition, a livestream of the fight night will be available via the ARD media library and at sportschau.de.
Text: Frank Schwantes