Brækhus beats Magdziak-Lopes and keeps world title belt

Carson, USA 20181208. Boxer Cecilia Braekhus smiles in her corner after the final round against Aleksandra Madgziak-Lopes during their WBC/WBA/WBO/IBF/IBO Welterweight Championship bout Saturday, December 8, 2018 at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, USA. Braekhus won by unanimous decision. Photo by Danny Moloshok Foto: Danny Moloshok / NTB Scanpix

Cecilia Brækhus (37) took a clear victory over Aleksandra Magdziak-Lopes in California and is still undisputed world champion in five boxing federations.

 

For the third fight in a row, Brækhus had to go all ten rounds, but as usual, she came out on top when the judges gave out their points.

After four rounds, the Polish-American challenger looked very tired, but Magdziak-Lopes proved tough. The 38-year-old has never lost a fight on a knockout, and she did not do it this time either.

A little too keen

Saturday’s Welterweight title fight in Carson, California, opened quite carefully with three quiet rounds, but eventually one began to see that the Norwegian world champion got the upper hand.

Particularly in the fourth round, Brækhus went aggressively to work, and she got some hits that one had to assume that Magdziak-Lopes felt. At the same time, she seemed overwhelmed when she was hitting hard in a clinch, something she had to admit herself “I was a little too keen. And at this time I’m in my career, that should not happen” Brækhus smiled in the victory interview with HBO after the fight.

Norwegian jubilation

Along the way, she received relief from among the approximately 1500 crowds in the StubHub Center in Carson, just south of Los Angeles.

“Come on, Cecilia” and “Norway, Norway, Norway” hailed out while the Bergenser tried to defeat her opponent.

However, it would not be easy to get Magdziak-Lopes on the ground. However, the judges were not in any doubt as to where victory lay.

Two of the judges gave Brækhus victory in all rounds, 100-90 in total, while the last referee gave the Norwegian boxer a 99-91 victory.

Unbeaten

Brækhus has now won 35 professional fights on as many attempts, and she confirmed Saturday’s position as the world’s best female boxer.

The 37-year old put all five of the World Cup belts in play in the fight against Magdziak-Lopes. She is welterweight champion in the WBA (World Boxing Association), World Boxing Council (WBC), WBO (World Boxing Organization), IBF (International Boxing Federation), and IBO (International Boxing Organization).

The settlement stands as the first and only main event with female boxers at a conference organized by HBO. The American Cable Channel ended its boxing effort after 45 years with Saturday’s event at Carson’s outdoor arena, where Brækhus also beat Kali Reis in May.

“This is a historic evening,” said Brækhus in the victory interview.

The big battle in the New Year?

Brækhus is in no way finished, and the question ahead will be which opponent she will face next time. She has been criticized for choosing a “single” opponent in Polish-American Magdziak-Lopes, and many hope that the Norwegian world champion will face a bigger opponent when she returns in 2019

There has been speculation about a possible meeting between Brækhus and Irish Katie Taylor (32), who fights two weight classes lower and is world champion in two federations in lightweight. Brækhus did not say anything about such a fight when NTB news interviewed her in October.

“Such a fight could happen in 2019, and it will be great. But there are some negotiations to be done before it can happen’’ said Brækhus.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today