Abass Baraou defeated Sam Eggington to win the vacant EBU European Super Welterweight title on an emotionally-charged night, live and free on Channel 5.
Baraou defeated ‘The Savage’ via a majority decision after 12 remarkable rounds at the Telford International Centre, with the judges scoring 117-112 and 117-111 in the German’s favour, while the other official saw the fight as 114-114 draw.
After a record-setting year in association with Ladbrokes, Numan and Infinitum, Wasserman Boxing has returned for 2024 by delivering an early contender for Fight of the Year, seen by viewers on Channel 5 in the UK, and worldwide on DAZN.
Baraou was overcome with emotion following the biggest win of his career but after wiping away the tears of joy, spoke of his determination to “keep the motor running” and use his Euro title win as a springboard to huge fights later this year.
The 29-year-old’s incredible battle with Eggington also doubled up as an official eliminator for the WBA world title and Baraou issued a stunning statement of intent to the rest of the 154lbs division.
On the undercard in Telford, Newcastle’s Dan Toward move to 3-0 by forcing the retirement of Frank Madsen in the fifth round, after another classy display.
New Wasserman Boxing recruit Sultan Zaurbek dropped Victor Julio en route to a convincing eight round points win, and is primed for an assault on the world super featherweight title in 2024.
Heavyweight hope Matty Harris got back to winning ways after last summer’s shock defeat, winning every round against Amine Boucetta, as he boxed under the guidance of Peter Fury for the first time.
And ‘Atomic’ Tom Welland extended his perfect start to life as a professional. to 3-0, with a second round stoppage of Esteban Troetsch.