Willy Kyakonye fights for the BeNeLux title in Utrecht – amateur comparison between Germany and the Netherlands.
On Saturday, June 14, the BetCity Arena in the heart of Utrecht will be all about professional boxing. At the spectacular Queen and King of the Ring open-air boxing night, Next Generation Warriors, Exceed Boxing and the Nederlandse Boksbond will join forces to present Dutch boxing fans with an event in a class of its own.
In the main event, up-and-coming light heavyweight talent Gradus Kraus (5-0, 5 knockouts) steps into the ring against experienced Hungarian veteran Attila Baran (17-9, 10 knockouts). In an eight-round duel, the 23-year-old Dutchman wants to continue his flawless knockout streak. After two victories in Great Britain, including an explosive first-round knockout against unbeaten Frenchman Tony Amoaku at the legendary York Hall in London, Kraus is ready for his toughest test to date. He is coached by father and K1 legend Albert Kraus, with additional support from renowned British trainer Peter Fury. But Baran arrives with three wins in a row – a real touchstone.
Co-Main Event – BeNeLux Heavyweight Title:
The second highlight of the evening will be a showdown for the vacant BeNeLux heavyweight title: Willy Kyakonye (11-0, 10 knockouts) meets the dangerous Belgian-Cameroonian Michael Essomba (10-1, 9 knockouts). The Ugandan-born but Dutch-based Kyakonye comes into the ring on a run of six straight knockouts, most recently a brutal first-round knockout of Wilmer Vasquez in Leeuwarden to secure the WBF belt. However, Essomba, whose only defeat was a controversial points decision against Mattar Garcia, promises to be a tough opponent.
At the Undercard in Utrecht, the audience will be served up even more delicacies:
- Somay Bilal (15-1, 6 knockouts), the current Dutch champion, will face Semjon Kamanin (5-2, 3 knockouts) from Estonia in a six-round super lightweight bout.
- In the super bantamweight division, unbeaten Ugandan Fazil Juma (7-0, 3 knockouts) opens the six-round show against England’s Connor Adaway (8-2, 3 knockouts).
Olympic preliminaries – Netherlands vs. Germany
As a special highlight in the preliminary program, fans can look forward to an Olympic four-court tournament between the best amateurs from the Netherlands and Germany (3×3 minutes each):
- Jenairo Gomes (NED) vs Omar Sloian (GER) – Men, 70kg, Middleweight
- Aaliyah Hoppema (NED) vs Maria Sedaia (GER) – Women, 65kg, Welterweight
- Mahmoud Alchabtun (NED) vs Ari Berkant (GER) – Men, 60kg, Lightweight
- Gabriella Werheim (NED) vs Maria Avram (GER) – Women, 57kg, Featherweight
Live broadcast: The entire event will be broadcast live on the Exceed Boxing YouTube channel. The broadcast will start at 18:00 local time (Amsterdam, GMT+2). Exceed Boxing on YouTube