Former 2-time light heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (49-4, 35 KOs) totally outclassed a badly over-matched previously unbeaten middleweight contender Rob “Rio” Brant (22-1, 15 KOs) in beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision on Friday night in the World Boxing Super Series super middleweight tournament at the Sport and Congress Center in Schwerin, in Germany.
The final judges’ scores were 119-109, 118-110 and 116-112. Boxing News 24 scored the fight for the 39-year-old Braehmer by 118-110 score
Braehmer landed well with straight left hands and jabs to the head of Brand in rounds 1-4. The fight was definitely competitive during the first quarter of the contest. Braehmer’s German boxing fans at ringside cheered loudly each tie he would connect with a nice shot. Each time Brant would land a nice right hand, Braehmer would charge after him and immediately nail him with a left to the head. It was like clockwork watching this routine. Brant was always getting paid back by Braehmer whenever he would land anything of substance.
Brant, 27, was too small in terms of weight, and way out of his class as far as boxing skills go. Both fighters were listed at 5’11”, but Braehmer looked considerably bigger. The fight looked like a super middleweight facing a middleweight. Brant did not have the size to deal with Braehmer, and that was the telling factor in the fight. Braehmer came down from the light heavyweight division to face Brant at 168. For his part, Brant moved up from 160 to take the fight. It would have probably been better for the World Boxing Super Series organizers to pick out a super middleweight to match against Braehmer instead of a middleweight like Brant.
Braehmer had Brant tied in knots and totally confused throughout the contest. Brant had the faster hands, but he was confused by Braehmer’s crafty fighting style. Braehmer was holding his right hand far out in front of him, waving it in the air, and nailing him with either jabs or straight left hands. When Brant would come forward to land his shots, Braehmer would catch him with straight lefts and right hooks.
Brant bloodied Braehmer’s nose in round 5 with a nice shots to the head. Braehmer’s nose would continue to bleed for the remainder of the fight, but it wasn’t a problem for him. It was Brant who was fighting with his mouth open in the second half of the fight. Brant looked exhausted in the last 5 rounds of the contest, which isn’t surprising due to him having so little experience with fights that have gone into the later rounds. Before tonight’s fight, Brant’s longest match of his career a 10 round bout against Louis Rose two years ago on October 23, 2015. Brant did not look like he was in the condition to fight at a bout at a fast pace for 12 rounds.
With tonight’s big win, Braehmer will now fight undefeated Callum Smith in the World Boxing Super Series semifinals in the first quarter of 2018. Going into the Brant fight, Braehmer was considered to have no chance against Callum Smith if he won tonight, but I think the boxing fans are now going to re-think that belief. If Braehmer fights like he did tonight, he’ll beat Callum Smith and beat him easily. Braehmer has a difficult southpaw stance, and so incredibly smart. Braehmer’s intelligence is extraordinary. Smith hasn’t fought anyone as talented as Braehmer. Age has nothing to do with the Braehmer-Smith fight. Braehmer fought like a guy in his late 20s tonight, not someone nearing 40. Smith is going to need to come up with a good game plan if he doesn’t want to wind up getting outclassed like Rob Brand.
Brant plans on moving back down to 160, where he’s ranked No.2 by the World Boxing Association. Brant will do a lot better in the middlweight division.