Promoter Kalle Sauerland reflects back on an 'historic' year and looks ahead to 'a massive 2022'
Promoter Kalle Sauerland reflects back on an 'historic' year and looks ahead to 'a massive 2022'
Speaking to Umar from IFL TV, Kalle Sauerland reflected back on the year, "It's been an historic year, 40-something-years of Team Sauerland, two become one with Wasserman, the biggest sports agency on the planet. So, from that point of view, it's been an absolutely massive, massive year."
He continued to say, "It's been an adaption to get used to working in such a large… I wouldn't even call it an enterprise, it's this huge Wasserman planet almost, and those synergies and what it can bring to the sport. In just six weeks we've signed about 15 UK names.
"Looking back on the year, the first big movement was signing [Chris] Eubank; that came just before the big Wasserman announcement and I think we struck gold in the UK partnering with Sky and working together with BOXXER. We've got some great talent in the UK signed up and it's a market we're looking at going from strength to strength in as well.
"To see the UK come to fruition in terms of deals and signing fighters, very interesting; it's set up for a massive 2022, and you can look through the stable, let's start with Mairis Briedis, he's obviously won the World Boxing Super Series and he's had a defence this year, was a tough time for him with Latvia being in lockdown, and he's got a massive 2022. He's only got a couple of years left and he wants the big fights."
The 44-year-old then revealed their could be an exciting cruiserweight unification coming, "He's got an IBF mandatory, lots of talk about this [Lawrence] Okolie [fight], which we are talking about. We met in Dubai as well and spoke about that fight, I think will happen next year. We have got a mandatory with the IBF and the IBF don't mess around with their mandatories, as we all know."
Briedis faces unbeaten Australian Jai Opetaia in his next fight, before any unification with Okolie can occur, which Kalle predicted, "I'd expect that [Okolie fight] to happen around the summertime."
Their first show of the year was due to be Chris Eubank Jr. vs Liam Williams on January 29, but unfortunately the British Boxing Board of Control suspended all tournaments under the jurisdiction for the month of January. Despite this notice, Kalle still holds out hope the fight will go ahead, "We, of course, have a Plan B, and a Plan B is a shift of the date with a very, very short time, I wouldn't say an exact date but it will be very, very close. It's the last weekend of Jan, you know, maybe, if they have to put a ban on, maybe it's the first three weeks of January, we don't have to always go by the calender, but it would be the first big show of the year and it'd be a shame if that had to move."
The Brighton boxer has been paraded as their front man since the new partnership begun a year ago, he explained why, "He doesn't hold a belt at the moment in the middleweights but he's, in many aspects, the golden goose. He's the main guy at Sky now, the world champions can tell me they're worth this and they're worth that, but you need, in boxing, to have the big, big money fights, you need to have both sides weighing up and we bring a lot to the table."
If Eubank Jr. comes through the fight with Welshman Williams with a win, then there's one specific opponent he will be looking for next, according to a grinning Kalle, "Listen, if you say 'Junior' and 'big fight' there's always one name that's always gonna come up and always gonna be there, but I don't know what he's up to at the moment, I can't answer it, but of course but we both know we're talking about those three letters [BJS]. Wherever Billy [Joe Saunders] is, he's a boxing man, Billy; personally, I don't think he's going anywhere but back into the ring at some stage, and I think that is a fight everyone wants to see.
"After Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua, that is the biggest fight in the UK, bar none. That is the fight that would excite this nation the most. That is a Wembley Stadium fight two times over, it's huge, massive!"
Despite the exciting talk of a rematch with Saunders, Team Sauerland will focus on capturing a world title first and foremost for the highly-ranked Eubank Jr.
He then discussed his Croatian heavyweight charge Filip Hrgovic, the current IBF International champion, unbeaten in 14 fights and mandated to fight the winner of Luis Ortiz vs Charles Martin, which the Cuban won by knockout on New Years Day; however, Kalle revealed that: "Both of those guys have already turned down the fight. Filip then, on paper, if they don't accept the fight, would be mandated to fight Joseph Parker. Filip is going to have a very big year next year and we truly believe he can go all the way."
"There's lots of talent coming through, there's Abass Barao in Germany; Denis Radovan, No.3 with the IBF now at middleweight; I think we've got five to six guys and girls in Germany, in the world rankings alone, in the top 10."
One of those top 10 world-ranked fighters is former unified world middleweight titlist Christina Hammer, who signed with Wasserman Boxing in November 2021. Sauerland unveiled her plans for 2022, "She wants to become a two-weight world champion, discussing future fights for her against Claressa Shields or Savannah Marshall."
On Thursday, November 25, at York Hall in London, the first Wasserman Boxing: The Development Series event was held, featuring WBO European Champion Harvey Horn against Tanzanian dangerman Fadhili Majiha, who upset the headlining home fighter in round four of the fight. For a rare mid-week boxing event, which was broadcast live on Boxing Social, it had a lot of good feeback with fight fans keen to see the next instalment. Kalle added his thoughts, "We had a little tester show for a lot of the young guys and girls, Chloe Watson included – Ricky Hattons protege – at the end of November in London where we saw a run-out of the UK talent and there's a lot there."
Watch the interview in full here:
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