Following a hugely successful debut show, the Nordic Fight Night returns to the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping, Sweden on December 19, where local hero Erik Skoglund (23-0, 11 KOs) will put his undefeated record on the line against Derek Edwards (27-5-1, 14 KOs) – the only man to have beaten current Swedish World Champion Badou Jack.
Skoglund made history on September 19 when defending his IBF Intercontinental title over twelve rounds against the durable Ukrainian Oleksandr Cherviak, three months later, the ‘Swedish Sensation’ faces his toughest opponent to date when he takes on the hard-hitting Derek Edwards.
Having proved his pedigree with a devastating first-round knockout victory over Badou Jack in February 2014, Edwards intends to claim his second Swedish scalp when he travels across the Atlantic to face Skoglund in his hometown arena, and the American is confident of delivering another knockout performance.
‘’Skoglund looks like a good boxer but he’s not overly impressive,’’ said the North Carolina native known as the ‘Black Lion’. ‘’He’s not got anything I haven’t seen before, and if I hit him, I know I’m going to hurt him so it is just a matter of setting him up for the right punch. I think I’ll stop him inside five rounds.’’
Skoglund, who is already hard at work with coach Tommy Antman at his Nyköping training base, believes he is up to the challenge and will be ready for whatever the American has to offer.
‘’Edwards is a very skillful fighter who has a lot of power in his punches,’’ said Skoglund. ‘’Obviously I watched him knockout Badou Jack – that was a very impressive performance, but I believe I’m the better boxer.
‘’I’ll need to keep my distance, work behind my jab and wait for him to open up. I’ve fought against power punchers before and I’ve taken some big shots, so I’m not worried about getting hit. I believe my chin can stand up to Edwards’ punches and I’m confident I have what it takes to beat him.’’
Promoter Nisse Sauerland expects this fight to be the ‘toughest’ and ‘most important’ of the young Swede’s career with a World title opportunity in the offering should he come through unscathed.
‘’Without a doubt this is a dangerous fight for Erik,’’ said Sauerland. ‘’In boxing all it takes is one punch, and against Badou Jack, we saw that Edwards is capable of delivering a knockout punch.
‘’I expect this to be the toughest fight of Erik’s career so far, but also the most important, as by beating someone of Edwards’ experience and ability, Erik will prove that he is ready to step up and we would look to deliver him a World title challenge early next year!’’
Tickets for The World Awaits: Erik Skoglund vs. Derek Edwards on December 19 at the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping, Sweden go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday, November 3) at 12.00pm and are available online via biljettforum.se or by calling 0771-130 150.
