Patrick Nielsen (24-1, 12 KOs) claimed the WBA International title in his super middleweight debut with a dominant display against George Tahdooahnippah (34-2-2, 24 KOs) last night at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen.
The Danish boxer took control of the fight from the opening bell, working well behind a southpaw jab and targeting the Oklahoma-based Native American’s head and body.
In the third-round two left hooks to the liver sent Tahdooahnippah to the canvas but the 36 year-old was able to find his feet at the count of eight. Following the knock down, Nielsen continued to press and punish the ‘Comanche Boy’ forcing him to quit on his stool at the start of the eighth-round.
‘’This was a really important victory for me,’’ said Nielsen. ‘’I would of liked to have seen him go down, but I’m really pleased with my performance. I stuck to the game plan and it paid off. At super middleweight I’m stronger and better than ever. Now it’s my time to shine!’’
‘’I was impressed with Patrick tonight,’’ said promoter Nisse Sauerland. ‘’He systematically broke Tahdooahnippah down and made a proud warrior quit. He showed what he is capable of and has sent a message to the entire super middleweight division.’’
An action packed undercard saw a potentially show stealing performance from Danish featherweight Dennis Ceylan (14-0-1, 7 KOs). The Aarhus-boxer impressed with a gutsy performance to outpoint former world champion Dmitry Kirillov (31-6-1, 10 KOs).
Swedish super middleweight star Oscar Ahlin (12-0, 10 KOs) made easy work of Alvaro Gaona (14-5, 9 KOs), flattening the Mexican with a spectacular left-hook-counter with 2 minutes 44 seconds gone in the first round. Ahlin’s countryman Otto Wallin (10-0, 8 KOs) secured his tenth professional win with a second-round technical knockout victory over David Gegeshidze (14-8-1, 3 KOs).
Danish middleweight Abdul Khattab (11-0, 3 KOs) outpointed Mikheil Khutsishvili (37-23-5, 18 KOs), while Norwegian talents Tim-Robin Lihaug (11-1, 6 KOs) and Kai Robin Havnaa (3-0, 2 KOs) recorded stoppage victories and South Africa’s Kevin Lerena (12-1, 7 KOs) opened the show with a unanimous points decision.
