No German boxer, male or female, had ever held the world titles of three major boxing associations.
Tina Rupprecht has made German boxing history. The 32-year-old from Augsburg, in addition to her WBC atomweight title, also won the WBO and WBA belts by beating Eri Matsuda of Japan by a clear margin on points in Heidelberg on Saturday evening. No German boxer had previously held the world titles of three major associations.
For Rupprecht, who is 1.53 m tall and weighs just 45 kg, it was the 14th victory in 16 professional fights (one draw and one defeat).
Rupprecht left home far behind for her historic opportunity and took a ten-day training camp in Uzbekistan. “This is a huge opportunity – and I’m going to take advantage of it,” Rupprecht said before the fight against 30-year-old Matsuda.
By winning at the Olympic Training Center in Heidelberg, “Tiny Tina” also earned the belt of the renowned boxing magazine “The Ring”. The journalists of the American “Boxing Bible” award this belt when, in their opinion, the two best boxers in the world compete against each other. Only boxing idol Max Schmeling had achieved this as a German fighter in 1930.
