By Ian S Palmer
The WBO Super Middleweight Championship will be on the line in Dresden, Germany this Saturday July 13 as champion Robert Stieglitz of Germany will attempt to defend his crown against Yuzo Kiyota of Japan. The veteran Stieglitz will enter the ring with a record of 44-3 with 25 Kos while Kiyota has a mark of 23-3-1 with an impressive 21 Kos.
Robert Stieglitz was very impressive in his last bout as he stopped the fourth-ranked Arthur Abraham in four rounds back in March. It was the third win in a row for the 32-year-old champion. Stieglitz offers up a classic European style as he’s a straight up boxer with a good jab. He’s pretty good defensively and throws in the odd flurry every now and again. He’s also got good hand speed and is always in excellent condition, which serves him well for the later rounds.
His challenger, Yuzo Kiyota, is 29 years of age and is currently the Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation titleholder. It’s obvious he’s quite a big puncher as he’s stopped 21 of his opponents in his 23 wins. His career knockout rate is an impressive 78 per cent chance and that means he’s always got a shot in a fight even if he’s trailing on the judges’ scorecards.
However, if Kiyota has a weakness, it could definitely be his chin. He was stopped in the first round back in 2010 by a relatively unknown in Jameson Bostic. Since that loss Kiyota’s opponents have all been Grade B boxers at the best. Kiyota’s goal here is to become the first Japanese-born boxer to capture a world crown above the middleweight limit of 160 lbs. Shinji Takehara was the WBA Middleweight Champion for awhile back in 1995.
Stieglitz was born in Russia and he won the crown against Abraham in a rematch of their first bout the previous August. Abraham won the first match by a close unanimous decision with scores of 116-112, 116-112, and 115-113. The 5-foot-11 Stieglitz originally won the title back in August of 2009 with an 11th-round TKO over Karoly Balzsay of Hungary and defended it successfully five times until losing it to Abraham. Two of Stieglitz’s losses were knockouts, to Librado Andrade in the eighth round in 2008 and in the third round a year earlier against Alejandro Berrio.
Since Stieglitz has been stopped twice it’s safe to say he doesn’t have the greatest chin either. If Kiyota connects flush on the jaw it will be interesting to see how the champion handles it. Stieglitz has the edge when it comes to experience and skill, but skill doesn’t always win fights. Stieglitz needs to be at the top of his game to make sure Kiyota doesn’t grow in confidence during the bout. This is a step up in class for the Japanese challenger and it’s likely he’s going to gain some experience in it but come out on the wrong end of a decision.
