Cecilia Braekhus Seeks Legacy vs Klara Svensson
Considered by many as the current best female fighter in the world, the undisputed WBC/WBA/IBF/WBO/IBO welterweight champion Cecilia “First Lady” Braekhus (29-0, 8KO) is slated to face her mandatory challenger and the interim WBC 147-pound titleholder Klara “Swedish Princess” Svensson (17-1, 5KO) of Sweden in her next contest slated for January 28th at the Spectrum in Olso, Norway.
The bout will be presented by SPAG and Braekhus’ very own First Lady Promotions in association with K2 Promotions and broadcast live in Norway.
2016 has been somewhat of a banner year for the Colombian-born Norway-based Braekhus. She fcought twice in defending her unified titles against Chris Namus in February via unanimous decision, and stopping the feared Anne Sophie Mathis of France in the second round of their rematch held in Oslo. More importantly, Braekhus was allowed to ply her wares in her adoptive country of Norway for the first time in over 30 years after the sport was banned in the early 80s.
Despite her fights being broadcast on national television in her country, it was the first time Braekhus performed in Norway after becoming a major star in Germany and Denmark as well as the rest of Europe.
More than 10,000 fans packed the arena for her rematch against Mathis, but over a million Norwegians tuned in to national network TV3 making it the second highest rated program in the history of the network.
The 29-year-old Svensson’s year wasn’t anything to shake a stick at either. She fought twice winning both fights. The first one, an eight round unanimous decision over Lucia Morelli but her second win of the year was a unanimous decision over the outspoken Mikaela Lauren this past September in all-Swede clash. With the win Svensson scored the interim WBC welterweight title as well as the right to face Braekhus for the full-fledged green and gold strap as well as the rest of the belts of the division.
“My last fight ended quite quickly, I left the arena without any injuries and was able to return to training soon after,” Braekhus, 35, stated at the press conference to announce her defense against Svensson. “My goal for this fight is the same as my last. I’m going to be better than Svensson in every area – technique, tactics, strength and footwork. I will win and I will do it before the 10th round ends.”
During the press conference after her second round destruction of Mathis back in October, Braekhus revealed she wanted to face MMA star Cris Cyborg in her next fight but soon it was announced she would face Svensson, who was in attendance in Oslo for the Mathis fight, instead.
The confident Svensson had much to say at the same press gathering. “I am looking forward to finally meeting Cecilia in the ring on January 28th. I have been dreaming about this opportunity for a long time and I am happy that this fight has been confirmed. I have a lot of respect for Cecilia, she is a great athlete but I’m very confident I can win.”
“I don’t have a problem being the underdog,” Svensson told a Swedish newspaper. “Everyone knows it is easier to chase something than to defend it. There will be less pressure.”
Fighting around the same weight class and in Europe, Braekhus and Svensson have shared a number of common opponents. In 2007 Braekhus defeated Borislava Goranova via six round unanimous decision while a year later she did it again but over eight rounds. Goranova took Svensson the eight round distance in late ’13 but also dropped a unanimous decision. Braekhus defeated the aforementioned Morelli back in 2009 with a unanimous decision over 10 rounds while defending her WBA and WBC titles and in 2010 she beat Lauren with a seventh round TKO to keep the WBC, WBA and WBO straps.
Although Braekhus and Svensson have never faced each other inside a ring, they have crossed paths on the internet, mainly on Twitter. When Svensson was going to face Lauren to see who will face the champion next, Braekhus couldn’t resist in sending a message to both asking them how the winner will feel in facing a real champion referring to herself.
“She has every right to be cocky with all her titles and unbeaten as she is,” Svensson explained to Sport KVP of Sweden. “I don’t think she’ll underestimate me.”
The questions on every female boxing fan is when we will we see Braekhus in the United States again. Braekhus made the trek across the Atlantic back in 2008 when she defeated Nicole Woods via a six round unanimous decision in Hollywood, Florida. Since then Braekhus has concentrated on Europe but did state recently her goal to traveling once again to the States and showing off her skills. “…the United States is a place I’ve wanted to fight for many years and want to make that happen in 2017 as well.”