German junior middleweight Slawa Spomer squares off with Puerto Rican contender Xander Zayas as a 13/2 underdog this Friday at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City. Spomer (20-0, 11 KOs) comes in as an unknown quantity, making his American debut in the co-feature to Denis Berinchyk’s WBO lightweight world title defense against Keyshawn Davis.
The Road To NYC
I commentated on Spomer’s unexpected victory over Milan Prat nearly 18 months ago in Oberhausen, Germany. With WBA and WBO regional titles on the line that would secure a lofty ranking, the contest was meant to be a springboard for the highly regarded 20-0 Frenchman to move onto the world stage. Prat’s promoter at the time (Legacy Boxing) hosted the event as Spomer came in as the away fighter but upset the applecart, securing a spectacular 10th-round knockout victory.
“I knocked him down four times in that fight,” Spomer said exclusively for FightsATW. “I love the role of an underdog. I love it. I like to surprise people. The same situation is right here with Xander Zayas. When I got the offer against Milan, I knew that most people thought that I’m trash! But I’m only ever the underdog because nobody knows me. I’ve not grown up with a big promoter and with a big stage or something like that. But to be honest, you know what? I know what I can do. I know my style of boxing will be a problem for anyone. I’m very self-confident in that. I knew the same thing before I signed the fight with Milan, and I knew that I would knock him out! I relished that so many people thought that he was gonna be knocking me out. I enjoyed it. I really like it when people doubt my ability.
“So, we have the same situation here with Zayas. He’s from Top Rank and everybody thinks I’m trash and I’m just another dumb-sh*t guy from Germany that has only come to lose. I’ll really enjoy showing that I’m the opposite of what they’re thinking. The fight has been in the pipeline for a long time, more than five or six months. We couldn’t quite agree on a deal, and I was also with no promoter or manager. I was trying to make it happen by myself, but it didn’t work. So, I signed with Legacy. Kareem [Akkar] made contact with Top Rank, and he made the deal very quickly. Now we’re here. I recognize that this fight will be the biggest test in my career, so I don’t want to be disrespectful or say he’s weak or something like that. I have big respect for what he’s achieved at the young age of 22. I’m not as famous because I’m from Germany, but I think he recognizes that this will also be his toughest test.”
Trained By A Hall of Famer
In between Spomer’s two highest-profile bouts, he kept busy with a 1st round stoppage victory over little-known Tanzanian journeyman Adam Ngange in Dubai. The 32-year-old also began training with the legendary Roy Jones Jr.
“I told all my friends that it is more than a dream come true being trained by Roy,” Spomer explained. “I watched Roy at the beginning of my boxing career when I was 11 or 12. Every time before a fight, I watched Roy Jones highlight videos on YouTube. He was my idol; it’s unbelievable now that I’m here and training with him. He was in my corner in my last fight.”
Coincidently, Jones Jr. would make an impromptu live performance of the smash hip-hop record ‘Can’t be Touched’ during the interval of his headline act in Oberhausen.
“I didn’t actually meet him in Germany at my fight with Milan,” Spomer continued. “We had made contact through my promoter Karim; he’s a good friend of Roy. I had some struggles with the place I used to train in the Olympic Center in Heidelberg, and they closed the door for me there. But now I’m with Roy. I enjoy the silence here. We are in the countryside; the people are very nice, and we have a great beach. It’s worked out very well. I’m here with another Legacy boxer from Germany called Franklyn Dwomoh, so I have some company too.”
Humble Beginnings
Born in Kyrgyzstan, Spomer moved to Germany in his infancy. In later years, he would use his hometown of Heilbronn to climb his way up the European ladder.
“I was born in Kyrgyzstan,” he said. “My father also left for Germany in 1992, the year I was born. We have German roots, so we had no problems with the move. My father left before us, and I moved to Germany in 1994 when I was two years old. My mother, grandpa, and the whole family all moved then to be with my father. I grew up in a town called Heilbronn. I stayed until I was 19 years old, but I moved to Heidelberg, which is only an hour away. I had a lot of my fights in Heilbronn.”
The Biggest Fight of His Career To Date
Going under the radar to land a shot on ESPN at the MSG feels like an understatement when browsing through the small German towns where Spomer’s career has taken place. The 20-0 vs 20-0 contest has the potential to be more competitive than the bookies suggest.
“I made a vision board eight years ago just before I started with the pros,” Spomer added, “I had a picture from the Madison Square Garden on it. You have to believe in your dreams because dreams come true if you work hard on it. My dream came true: to fight on the biggest stage at Madison Square Garden! A little boxer from Germany that nobody knows. Can you imagine? I have a world title on my vision board too.”
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