It seems like the festive spirit is taking over. The Austrian Boxing
Federation (FVA) let Michael Sprott (26-19, 17 KOs) of the hook and reduced
his ban in order for him to face Edmund Gerber (22-0, 14 KOs) for the second
time on December 15. The heavyweight clash is part of the undercard to the
WBO Super Middleweight World Championship between Arthur Abraham (35-3, 27
KOs) and Mehdi Bouadla (26-4, 11 KOs).
After Sprott´s TKO loss to Edmund Gerber on September 15, the 37-year-old
seemed to have let the frustration get the better of him as he went to
confront Referee Gerhard Sigl and ended up pushing him, as he did not
believe that Sigl had to stop the fight. Just a few days after the event in
Bamberg, Germany, the sanctioning body of the fight (FVA) decided to ban the
man from Reading for three months. However, due to the fact that Sprott
previously had a record of immaculate behaviour he was granted permission to
participate in Nuremberg, just a few days before the official end of the
ban.
In contrary to Sprott, Edmund Gerber has already been back inside the ring
since the happenings from Bamberg. In Halle/Westphalia, the 24-year-old won
an unanimous decision against Darnell Wilson from America. But the November
3 fight was not as plain sailing as the result might suggest. Right towards
the end of the very first round, Wilson landed two left haymakers to the
head of the German that almost sent him crashing to the canvas. “I have
definitely learned a lot from that fight. I only lost concentration for a
brief moment and dropped my right hand. My coach warned that this could
happen – from now on I will listen to him even more carefully,” said the
prodigy of Karsten Roewer.
The spectators at the Arena in Nuremberg will be looking forward to the
rematch between the Brit Michael Sprott and Edmund Gerber. And the German
heavyweight hopeful remembers the bout against Sprott too well. “It took me
a while to get into the fight. I will have to improve in terms of boxing.
Although I did win in the end, I had some difficulties to adjust to his
style. Now I know exactly what I have to do. The fans will get to witness an
exciting matchup.”
His key to success: “I will have to move around a lot more in order to make
it harder for him to find the target. If I can also take the initiative in
the fight it will be very hard to beat me.”
According to Gerber, it is not possible to predict the outcome of the second
fight between the pair. “I am convinced that I will be much better than in
our first meeting. I am looking forward to showcase my abilities. After I
have done that I will take some time off and spend the holidays with my
family.”
Tickets for the big fight night are in Nuremberg are available at
www.eventim.com and www.boxen.com.