Feigenbutz faces De Carolis for WBA belt as Britons eye prize

Lee Gormley | January 6, 2016

Vincent Feigenbutz v Giovanni De Carolis

Feigenbutz-De Carolis bout to attract Britons

Vincent Feigenbutz will once again collide with Giovanni De Carolis on Saturday night at the Baden-Arena in Offenburg, Germany, but several British fighters will now have a close eye on the bout after it was upgraded to a WBA super-middleweight title contest.

The pair’s rematch will be for the vacant regular WBA strap after it was upgraded from the interim belt, and will attract interest from two-time world title challenger George Groves, relentless competitor Martin Murray and Liverpool prospect Callum Smith.

After a gruelling 12 rounds in November, it was talented German contender Feigenbutz (21-1, 19 KOs) that edged the first encounter, scoring a close points decision over his Italian opponent, but De Carolis (23-6, 11 KOs) is 10/3 with Coral to make amends with victory this time around.

Feigenbutz seeking historic title triumph

The WBA’s ruling to upgrade this bout on German soil to comes after Andre Ward’s decision to move up to light-heavyweight and the following promotion of world champion Fedor Chudinov to ‘super’ champion.

With such high stakes up for grabs now, 20-year-old German Feigenbutz is aiming to make history by becoming his country’s youngest ever world champion, if he can repeat last October’s victory and is odds-on 1/5 to do so.

“The first fight against Giovanni was a real battle,” said the rising German star.

German leaving no questions unanswered

“Although I won the fight, I wasn’t happy with my performance as I know I can do better. I don’t want to use it as an excuse but I was recovering from a severe cold and therefore unable to fight to my full potential.

“This time, I’m fully fit and ready to beat him convincingly. I promised him the rematch in the ring after the first fight and have stayed true to my word.

“I’m happy to get the chance to meet him again as a true champion should have no blemishes on his record and leave no questions unanswered.”

De Carolis seeks justice in rematch

The more experienced De Carolis still believes he won the first match-up with his youthful German opponent and is confident of brining the WBA strap back to Italy.

“Boxing is subjective, but in my estimation, I should have been declared the winner after our first fight in Karlsruhe,” stated the 31 year-old from Rome.

“Before the fight, Vincent appeared very arrogant and full of himself, but when I looked into his eyes before the first bell I could see his eyelids twitch.

“I think perhaps he has been blinded by his past success and when faced with an opponent who can handle his power he becomes uncertain of what to do. This could also be due to his age and inexperience.

“For this fight, I have made some adjustments to my tactics and will use the element of surprise to my advantage. Although, I do not like to give any predictions on the outcome, I will say that I will do everything in my ability to bring the belt home to Italy with me!”

British fighters will be on red alert

With Feigenbutz and De Carolis contesting for the division’s WBA title now, Britain’s super-middleweights Groves, Murray and Smith will be keeping an extremely close eye on proceedings, as they target the belt in the near future.

Londoner Groves previously failed to take the title from now retired Carl Froch on two occasions, and is still gunning for glory under his new coach Shane McGuigan. Meanwhile, Martin Murray has endured plenty of world title heartache and will also be intrigued by this upcoming fight.

The St Helens competitor lost a WBA super title bout to undefeated Gennady Golovkin last February after drawing with Felix Strum for the same honour three years ago, while unbeaten Merseysider Smith is still on the path towards world championship contest.

All of these British world title hopefuls will be paying special attention on Saturday night as Feigenbutz looks to become the youngest German world champion in history, while De Carolis targets revenge for his narrow defeat last year in this intriguing rematch.

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Coral’s top tip: Back Vincent Feigenbutz to reign supreme again on home turf at odds-on 1/5.