BRING IT ON: Underdog Yakup Saglam talks it up in his brief visit to Waipukurau yesterday.
BRING IT ON: Underdog Yakup Saglam talks it up in his brief visit to Waipukurau yesterday.
In 11 years of boxing, professional Yakup Saglam can unequivocally say he's having the time of his life in New Zealand in his maiden bout outside of Europe.
So much so, the German-based pugilist has no qualms about moving here to settle some day based on the hospitality of everyone he has met in promoting the fight since arriving here in an exhausting 39-hour flight from his doorstep in Frankfurt.
But the 38-year-old underdog is under no illusions about exactly where he stands against Kiwi opponent Joseph Parker in the feature heavyweight bout of the Duco Promotions event in Palmerston North tomorrow night.
"I'm in the lion's den over here," says the Turkish-born boxer dubbed "The Scorpion" at a cafe in Waipukurau yesterday after making a dash across the Manawatu Gorge.
"In boxing, when you're coming in as a foreigner it's very difficult because the odds are stacked against you," says Saglam through translator Sonni McConnel, of Auckland, while trainer Detlef Loritz comes to his rescue when required.
Consequently the bout against Parker, who boasts a 13-0 record with 11 knockouts, will be pretty simple.
"My only chance is to knock him out in the first round because the public is going to be against you," says Saglam, who isn't averse to the idea of going the distance but believes it's difficult to score points on any foreign patch.
He hastens to add it'll be no different a reception if Joe Parker ever enters the ring in Germany.
Saglam is no stranger to controversy. In August 2013 he and his corner disputed the eighth-round knockout loss to 2004 Olympic heavyweight gold medallist Odlanider Solis at the Cuxhaven, Niedersachsen, after the referee stopped the fight.
US-based Solis, who is three years younger, was predicted to beat Saglam in the first round.
"I got KO'd but I got up again and no one even counted me out," he says of hard-hitting Solis, who was at the time grappling with his weight demons.
That, no doubt, will not be an issue with a super fit and ring-savvy Parker tomorrow and Saglam is unlikely to go the distance.
Saglam's other marquee fight was against Manuel Chaa, of Germany, who has been world champion Wladimir Klitschko's opponent.
The bout came to a halt in the third when Saglam "popped his shoulder after leading on points in the first two rounds".
"We want people to be honest and fair anywhere we fight," he says, confident that will be the case tomorrow night.
Size isn't an issue for Saglam, who beat former Canadian heavyweight champion Raymond Olubowale in a six-round decision in 2010. The Nigerian-born stood at 2.05m and weighed 130kg that year.
Packing a 1.93m tall, 100kg frame, Saglam doesn't think age difference will matter much against Parker, 23, but fitness will be vital.
"I've a lot more experience ... Joe is still quite inexperienced and pretty nervous," says the man who is ranked No84 on boxing website BoxRec while Parker is perched on the No 23 rung.
In 37 bouts, he has won 34, including 31 by knockout, and drawn one.
At the age of 12, he left his parents, teacher Hasan and Nimet, in Trabzon, Turkey, to join his uncle, Temel, in Koblenz, Germany.
"My uncle was always busy so I had to do things myself," he reveals, unable to attend school for the first six months while waiting for immigration clearance.
He became a car mechanic on graduating from school.
Translator Sonni McConnel, of Auckland.
"I also played soccer professionally for 10 years as a defender but I wanted to be involved in an individual sport," translator McConnel explains.
His search for a new challenge took him to trainer Loritz's gym, FLP Box-Team Koblenz.
"I had no idea what to do so Detlef taught me everything," says Saglam, who caught the Muhammad Ali bug on TV.
Loritz told him as a late bloomer at 28 he needed to give it some serious thought because anything short of 100 per cent commitment would waste both their time.
"It's two people getting into a ring to have a conversation with their fists," he says with a toothy grin.
Money was never the incentive.
"I wanted to be a role model for kids so they can have something to get their teeth into," he says, adding the target is the underprivileged who come from broken homes and flirt with the wrong side of the law.
"I want to train them and get them on the right path so that's much more rewarding than money." He is married to Heike and they have a son, Yasar, 10.
