Abass Baraou Explained

Abass Baraou
Weight:
Birth Date:1994 10, df=y
Birth Place:Aalen, Germany
Style:Orthodox
Boxrec:832215
Total:17
Wins:16
Losses:1
Ko:9

Abass Baraou (born 28 October 1994) is a German professional boxer who has held the WBC International light-middleweight title since 2019. As an amateur, he won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships and a gold at the 2017 European Championships, both while competing at welterweight.

Early life

Baraou was born on 28 October 1994 in Aalen, Germany. Shortly after his birth, his family returned to their homeland of Togo, where he spent the first nine years of his life before moving back to Germany and settling in Oberhausen.[1] When he was 13 years old, the energetic Baraou attended a trial boxing training session offered at a youth center near his apartment.[2] Although he didn't like it all that much, thinking it was too boring, he was spotted by a trainer that saw him hit the punching bag and persuaded him to continue training with him.[3]

He became the first German in seven years to win a gold medal at the continental stage when he took first place in the welterweight event at the 2017 European Championships in Ukraine, upsetting the favorite Pat McCormack in the final.[3] Later that year at the World Championships in Hamburg he reached the semi-finals of the welterweight tournament, where he fell to two-time Olympic medalist Roniel Iglesias.[4]

He was also a three-time national champion and a three-time winner of the prestigious Chemistry Cup.

Amateur results

Professional career

Baraou made his professional debut under legendary trainer Ulli Wegner on 28 April 2018, defeating undefeated compatriot Artur Mueller via fourth-round technical knockout (TKO) at the Baden Arena in Offenburg. In his second fight he took the German light-middleweight title from Denis Krieger (14–5–2, 9 KO) with a ten-round unanimous decision (UD) victory over the Moldovan-born fighter.[21] [22] As the final bell rang, Krieger spat at Baraou and insulted him in the post-fight interview. The Hanover crowd booed him as he offered the fans in attendance both middle fingers several times while exiting the venue.[23] [24] Four months later, on 6 October, Baraou retained his belt against Robert Maess (22–1, 20 KO), the man Krieger had originally beaten for the title in January.[25] He knocked his opponent down with a powerful left in the second round, and even though Maess was saved by the bell, he retired in his corner to give Baraou the victory.[26]

On 16 February 2019, less than ten months after his pro debut, he defeated Mexican former world champion Carlos Molina by unanimous decision after twelve rounds for the vacant WBC International light-middleweight title.[27] [28] In May he defeated former IBO world champion Ali Funeka in Frankfurt, stopping the 41-year-old veteran in the fifth round.[29] He followed that up with his first fight abroad, a TKO victory over Egyptian prospect Abdelghani Saber (8–0–1, 8 KO) at the Caesars Palace in Dubai.[30] After Baraou dropped him once in the first round, he floored him again with a body shot in the second that he was not able to get up from.[31] One and a half months later he defended his WBC International title against John O'Donnell on the undercard of the Regis Prograis–Josh Taylor World Boxing Super Series super lightweight final at The O2 Arena in London. Baraou sent him to the canvas late in the sixth round, and continued his attack after O'Donnell got to his feet, prompting the referee to stop the fight with one second left in the period.[32]

After a main event stoppage victory over Mexican rival Abraham Juarez in Hamburg in January 2020, Baraou moved to England to train under the tutelage of highly regarded coach Adam Booth.[33] His second title defense was announced for 4 April against Nick Klappert (28–3, 15 KO), but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
17Win16–1Macaulay McGowanUD1214 Jun 2024
16Win15–1Sam Eggington121 Mar 2024
15Win14–1Hugo NoriegaUD88 Dec 2023
14Win13–1Ferenc KatonaTKO3 (8), 31 Mar 2023
13Win12–1Brian Damian ChavesTKO6 (10), 19 Mar 2022
12Win11–1Meriton KaraxhaUD103 Dec 2021
11Win10–1Jay Spencer TKO1 (8), 10 Sep 2021
10Loss9–1Jack Culcay1228 Aug 2020
9Win9–0Abraham JuarezRTD4 (10), 25 Jan 2020
8Win8–0John O'DonnellTKO6 (10), 26 Oct 2019
7Win7–0Abdelghani SaberTKO2 (8), 13 Sep 2019
6Win6–0Ali FunekaTKO5 (10), 4 May 2019
5Win5–0Carlos MolinaUD1216 Feb 2019
4Win4–0Sasha YengoyanUD101 Dec 2018
3Win3–0Robert Maess2 (10), 6 Oct 2018
2Win2–0Denis Krieger102 Jun 2018
1Win1–0Artur Mueller4 (6), 28 Apr 2018

Notes and References

  1. News: Ausnahmetalent Abass Baraou: Ein Oberhausener boxt sich hoch. Westfälische Rundschau. 4 October 2019. 4 June 2020. German.
  2. News: Geschichte eines Underdogs. Wortathleten. 12 November 2017. 5 June 2020. German.
  3. News: Vom Ignoranten zum Europameister: Baraou als WM-Vorbild. Westfälische Nachrichten. 25 June 2017. 5 June 2020. German.
  4. News: Europameister lässt seinen Emotionen freien Lauf. sport.sky.de. 2 September 2017. 5 June 2020. German.
  5. News: 64.German Youth National Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  6. News: 17.Brandenburg Youth Cup Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  7. News: 3.AIBA Youth World Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  8. News: German U-21 National Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  9. News: 41.Chemistry Cup Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  10. News: German U-21 National Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  11. News: 92.German National Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  12. News: 1.European Games Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  13. News: 42.Chemistry Cup Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  14. News: 93.German National Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  15. News: 43.Chemistry Cup Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  16. News: 54.Beogradski Pobednik Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  17. News: 94.German National Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  18. News: 44.Chemistry Cup Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  19. News: 55.Beogradski Pobednik Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  20. News: 42.European Championships Results. amateur-boxing.strefa.pl. 5 June 2020.
  21. News: Baraou siegt und Krieger spuckt. Bild. Jörg. Lubrich. 3 June 2018. 4 June 2020. German.
  22. News: Blitzsauberer Kampf von Abass Baraou bringt ersten Gürtel. Neue Ruhr Zeitung. Geronimo. Köllner. 4 June 2018. 4 June 2020. German.
  23. News: Eklat nach dem Sieg von Boxer Baraou. ikz-online.de. 4 June 2018. 4 June 2020. German.
  24. News: Abass Baraou neuer deutscher Meister – Eklat im Anschluss / Ergebnisse der Undercard in Hannover. boxen1.com. Fynn. Schröder. 3 June 2020. 4 June 2020. German.
  25. News: Abass Baraou gehen die Gegner aus. ikz-online.de. Geronimo. Köllner. 8 October 2018. 4 June 2020. German.
  26. News: ABASS BARAOU UND PATRICK WOJCICKI VERTEIDIGEN IN WOLFSBURG IHRE TITEL. go4boxing.com. Wolfgang. Wycisk. 7 October 2018. 4 June 2020. German.
  27. News: Abass Baraou Excited With Win Over Ex-Champ Carlos Molina. Boxing Scene. 17 February 2019. 5 June 2020.
  28. News: Baraou defeats ex-champ Molina. Fight News. 17 February 2019. 5 June 2020.
  29. News: Bunn vs. Harth – Überzeugendes Main-Event, Bunn erfolgreich gegen Harth!. boxen1.com. 5 May 2019. 5 June 2020. German.
  30. News: Abass Baraou mit KO-Sieg beim ersten Auslandseinsatz in Dubai. boxen1.com. Jan. Woldenberg. 13 September 2019. 5 June 2020. German.
  31. News: K.o.-Sieg für Baraou in Dubai. sport1.de. 14 September 2019. 5 June 2020. German.
  32. News: Boxing Results: Abass Baraou & Denis Radovan Impress At the O2. boxingnews24.com. 27 October 2019. 5 June 2020.
  33. News: Abass Baraou Secures Adam Booth as Trainer. Boxing Scene. 10 March 2020. 5 June 2020.

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