Things do not always go as planned, don’t judge a book by its cover, and it’s not about how you start but how you finish.
The world is full of sayings and clichés, and several of them can be attached to the up-coming World Boxing Federation Middleweight title fight on February 11 in Hamburg, Germany.
Cagri Ermis (12-10-2, 4 KOs) was originally scheduled to challenge now former WBF Champion Karama Nyilawila last December. First the show was postponed when Ermis suffered an injury, and later Nyilawila, overdue a defense, decided not to honor his contract and instead take a non-title fight in Tanzania. The title was declared vacant, and Ermis will now take on Portugal’s Vitor Sa (26-6, 5 KOs) for the championship.
Currently managed by former European Champion Oktay Urkal, it’s fair to say that 28-year-old Ermis had an up-and-down beginning to his pro career, going 3-7-2 in his first twelve outings. But fighting very stern opposition “on the road”, he learned his craft and always went the distance while putting up good fights against class acts such as Vilmos Balog (13-0), Ante Bilic (19-2) and Predrag Radosevic (17-0).
Things started to change for the better in 2009. After losing to Radosevic in Montenegro, Ermis scored three consecutive victories before dropping another decision, this time to Danish-Lebanese contender Ahmed Kaddour in Denmark. He quickly returned to winning ways by beating countrymen Piotr Gasparov and Baker Barakat, the latter for a minor regional title.
In March 2010 Ermis had his biggest fight so far when he travelled to France for a clash with future WBA World Champion Hassan N´Dam N´Jikam, 22-0 at the time. Ermis lost, but again put up a spirited performance and gained invaluable experience that will no doubt come in handy against Vitor Sa.
