The Czech Republic has a world champion in women’s boxing. Arleta Krausová wins the WBU championship belt
Czech boxer Arleta Krausová created a real surprise on Saturday. In the German city of Gelsenkirchen, she defeated the favorite Pia Mazelanik on points and won the title of the WBU professional boxing world champion in bantam weight (up to 53,5 kg).
As late as the middle of last week, however, the star of the MÉDEA BOXING TEAM did not even know if she would really be fighting in such an important competition. “Though it was talked about for two weeks, I still did not have the certainty that it was really going to come through. It wasn’t until Wednesday that the news came through that everything is arranged,” describes Arleta Krausová.
This was one of the reasons few people believed that she could really win title. Furthermore, the local favorite was supposed to step into the ring, the former world champion in kickboxing and a woman who, prior to the match, was rated the 11th best boxer in the world on the respected chart of the boxre server, in bantamweight. It’s no surprise, then, that in the end even Krausová was surprised. But I don’t want it to look like I went there with a defeatist mood, just to get it over with. I knew Mazelanik could be defeated. I took it as an awesome chance that you don’t get very often. And I’m very happy that I managed it,” says Krausová, for whom the match ended brilliantly tactically.
“Nothing much happened in the first three rounds, I boxed cautiously and trying to feel her out. From the 4th round on, I began ratcheting it up and every additional minute I felt a growing dominance,” says Krausová describing the course of the duel. However, as the “non-local” I was a little afraid of the referees’ verdict after 10 rounds. “I felt it was a won match, but on the other hand, I’d seen such matches turn around. So that’s why I’m glad the arbiters made a fair decision – even though one of referees sided with the rival,” she adds.
In addition to the title itself, Krausová also added a valuable first. She is the first female Czech professional boxer that can put on the world champion belt. “For now I don’t know what it means for me. I’ll probably have to defend it, and hopefully I’ve opened up a path to better matches for myself,” believes Krausová, who has won the amateur Champion of the Czech Republic title three times in the past. “I have to thank the manager of the MÉDEA BOXING TEAM, Jaromír Soukup and trainer Jurij Krivoručko. Without them this match would simply not have taken place,” concludes the fresh world champion.