Daniel Baff pulls out of SUPER 8/SUPER FIGHT NIGHT

Daniel Baff pulls out of SUPER 8/SUPER FIGHT NIGHT

SKY ARENA and SUPER 8 / SUPER FIGHT NIGHT have a special announcement.
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SUPER 8 / SUPER FIGHT NIGHT
PRESS RELEASE:

NZ's top ranked fighter, David Aloua, has suffered a temporary setback in his WBA Pan African title defence on November 22 at SUPER 8 / SUPER FIGHT NIGHT, due to the medical withdrawal of WBA number 12 Daniel Baff.

SUPER 8 promoters have reluctantly looked to enforce their rights under Baff’s contract, after Baff produced a medical certificate stating Baff is unfit to fight on 22 November. Baff has cited an unshakable viral condition and that this has impacted his ability to train at 100%.

Super 8 match maker Mark Keddell was caught by surprise by the news.

“Baff had seemed fit and healthy during the filming of the promotional videos claiming camp was right on track and training was going well. But before jumping to any conclusions, a fighter’s health and fitness is our primary concern and we have requested independent medical tests to confirm the diagnosis.

"We are disappointed but there are contingencies which allow for this in our fight agreements and we are exercising these and have advised the camp that, if he can't fight, he is obliged to reschedule to a new date.

“Ideally this would be SUPER 8 March 2015, giving Daniel plenty of time to recover and the opportunity to defend his WBA ranking which currently sits one spot above David.”

Keddell was eager to sidestep suggestions coming out of Australia that Baff was running scared from the Aloua bout.

"It’s just boxing, we have to follow due process, he missed his medical on Monday which has now been rescheduled, but we fully intend to make this fight happen as per Daniel’s contract in the New Year."

"In the meantime our focus shifts to finding a credible replacement. Fortunately we are well networked to the top cruiserweights in the region and are confident we can find an equally strong opponent for November 22."

Aloua himself remains un-phased and is focused on fighting whoever is put in front of him.

"My job is to fight, all I want is a tough bout to show the New Zealand public how far I've come.

"I'm not interested in an easy opponent, I want to clean out my back yard and work my way further up the world rankings and push for a world titles’ shot within 18 months.”

Aloua is NZ's consistently highest ranked professional across most of the sanctioning bodies being rated 12 by the IBO, 13 by the WBA, 15 by the WBO and 15 by the independent boxing record website, boxrec.com.

After three years in the Mundine camp in Sydney, the 27 year old returned to NZ in June 2014 with the WBO Asia Pacific, OPBF and WBA Pan African Cruiserweight crowns having KO'd then world number 10 Brad Pitt in April.

Aloua will defend his WBA Pan African title on the undercard of the Shane Cameron, Kali Meehan WBA Oceania Heavyweight title bout on November 22 at the North Shore event centre.

ends

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