Not much more than two years ago
she was in hospital with gunshot
wounds in hands, knees and feet
following an attack from her
estranged stepfather just
minutes before a world title
fight, and no one expected her
to ever lace on the gloves
again.
Now she is the World Boxing
Federation Womens World Light
Welterweight Champion!
The Comeback story of Rola El
Halabi continues to grow, and on
Saturday night, August 3, it
peaked when she defeated
Hungarian Dalia Vasarhelyi at
the Laubach Arena in Laubach,
Germany to lift the WBF World
title left vacant when superstar
Holly Holm recently retired.
After ten absorbing rounds, the
28-year-old from Ulm was
deservedly awarded the unanimous
decision with scores of 98-91
(Jean-Marcel Nartz), 99-91
(Dominique Schmit) and 99-91
(Alexander Plumanns), but the
contest was much more
competitive than the numbers
suggest.
Vasarheliy, a 20-year-old
philosophy student from
Budapest, proved tough as nails,
and when El Halabi really dished
it out in the last three rounds
she didn’t buckle where many
would have. It was however clear
in the end that the local star
was the better fighter, and the
3500 fans that packed the
outdoor arena gave her excellent
support all the way.
El Halabi’s story is well-known
in Germany, where she has
published a book about her
struggle and appeared on several
TV talk shows, and it was
obvious that everyone in
attendance was thrilled to have
witnessed what must be
considered one of the most
successful comeback stories in
boxing history.
With the victory El Halabi
improves her professional record
to 12-1 (6), while former
European title-challenger
Vasarhelyi falls to a very
misleading 4-4 (0).
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