Tomorrow, Friday (February 14), German boxing hopeful Slava Spomer will step into the ring in New York. The half-middleweight from Heilbronn may be facing the biggest fight of his career.
For Slawa Spomer, what many professional boxers dream of all their lives is coming true: a fight in the famous Madison Square Garden in New York. On Friday, February 14, the German half-middleweight (20-0, 11 knockouts) will face Puerto Rican Xander Zayas (20-0, 12 knockouts) in the boxing mecca of the Big Apple. While the 22-year-old fighter from the Top Rank stable is currently number one in the WBO rankings in the limit, Spomer, who is ten years older, is ranked eleventh.
The fight between the two undefeated fighters will take place as a co-main event in the “Garden Theater” – and the winner can look forward to a world championship opportunity against Sebastian Fundora, double champion of the WBC and WBO associations. In the main fight, WBO Lightweight World Champion Denys Berinchyk and US hopeful Keyshawn Davis will duel (live on ESPN+).
Under the radar
This fight on the big international stage is the opportunity of a lifetime, as Spomer knows. The likeable Heilbronn native caused quite a stir in October 2023 when he knocked out the highly rated Frenchman Milan Prat in an exciting fight. This performance earned Spomer a contract with Legacy Sports Management in Düsseldorf. However, the Kyrgyz-born fighter only returned to the ring in November last year. Spomer celebrated a quick first-round victory against Adam Ngange (Tanzania) in Dubai.
In Germany, Slava Spomer (“You can’t put into words what you feel in the ring”), who has been a professional since 2018, still flies largely under the radar – although the experts attest to his world-class potential. That may finally change tomorrow on Valentine’s Day.
Text: Frank Schwantes
You can find out more about Slava Spomer in this video: