Chris Kongo def. Sebastian Formella UD 97-93, 98-92, 97-94 – Chris Kongo (14-1, 7 KOs) had to dig deep and fight hard to take victory over a dangerous, tough Sebastian Formella, winning comfortably on all three judges’ scorecards with scores of 98-92,97-93, 97-94.
The early rounds were cagey, but a few perfectly timed 1-2 combinations in the 6th round gave Kongo control and he never gave it up, pushing on from there to develop his comfortable lead. Kongo came within a few clean shots of stopping the fight in the 10th and final round but Formella showed tremendous heart to stay on his feet and then fire back, defiantly reaching the final bell.
Ben Shalom called this fight “make or break” for Chris Kongo in the build-up, and Kongo lived up to the pressure and took victory, now positioning himself well in the division for big fights soon.
Preview:
Bermondsey’s former WBO Global Welterweight Champion Chris Kongo (13-1-0, 7 KO’s) has a route back into world title contention if he defeats the tough German contender Sebastian Formella (23-2-0, 11 KO’s) in their International showdown at the OVO Arena, Wembley on Saturday, June 11, live and exclusive on Sky Sports,
Kongo is raring to get back into pole position after winning his comeback fight against Kelvin Dotel in March following his close points loss to Michael McKinson last year. While Formella is looking for his own shot at the World title and his only two losses have been against Former World Champion Shawn Porter and Connor Benn, pushing both big hitters the distance.
CHRIS KONGO vs SEBASTIAN FORMELLA WBC International Welterweight Championship Bout
Chris Kongo: “I’m ready to put on a show, but the only thing I’ve been focusing on for the last 8 weeks is Sebastian Formella. I’ve seen loads of him, we’ve been studying him on film. I can’t wait to show what I can do on Saturday night. We all know I come on stronger, later in the fight. We’ll see how it goes and if the stoppage comes it comes.”
Formella: “Chris Kongo is a strong fighter. We’ve prepared for a big and difficult exercise on Saturday night, we’ve had lots of time to prepare for this. The winner of this fight has the opportunity to fight for a very big title”
Ben Shalom on Kongo: “This is a fantastic fight for Chris Kongo. It’s a great opportunity but it’s also a crossroads fight too, he has to perform on Saturday night and has to show why he is world level. If he can get a stoppage that would be a huge statement.”
Tickets are on sale from 12pm midday tomorrow, Wednesday May 4 via BOXXER.com priced at £250, £150, £100, £75, £60 and £40.
Main event: Riakporhe Takes On Fabio Turchi in World Title Eliminator. Also on the card, the long-awaited professional debut of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Gold Medallist Lauren Price MBE and hugely popular Cruiserweight Viddal Riley Makes London Debut.
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