(MAY 12) On Saturday at Brandberge Arena, Halle an der Saale, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany, Susi Kentikian (21-0-0) caused a major upset by defeating Mary Elizabeth Ortega (29-5-2) by TKO in the first round of the WBA / WIBF world title fight in Flyweight.

Kentikian caught Ortega with a left right combination, that sent Ortega to the floor 50 seconds into the round. 20 seconds later Kentikian hit the target with another hard right hand, that made Ortega's legs buckle, but she managed to stay on her feet, much to the surprise for Kentikian who was already heading for the neutral corner.

The relentless attack from Kentikian continued, and  Ortega had to take another 8 count after being knocked down about 90 seconds into the round. She was visibly shaken when she got off the floor the second time, but the referee let the fight go on, keeping a close eye on Ortega.

However, he decided to stop the fight 10 seconds before the end of the round, after Ortega was backed up against the rope, unable to block much of the incoming fire. The United States boxer immediately protested against the stoppage---although her corner did not seem to join in the protests.

Most boxing folks had expected a long and hard fought fight that could go either way. That includes the former WIBF world champion Regina Halmich who co-hosted the event, who predicted very hard work for Kentikian. The world champion stated in the post fight interview, that she had anticipated the fight to go the distance, but she was obviously pleased with the way it turned out.

In an eight round bout, flyweight Viktoria Milo won by a unanimous decision over Svetla Taskova. The scores were 78-74, 78-76 and 78-74.