America watch out! Zsolt Erdei is coming

Former two-division titlist Zsolt Erdei, one of the most talented but obscure titleholders in boxing in recent years, is coming out of retirement and coming to America, looking to make a name for himself under the guidance of promoter Lou DiBella.

DiBella told ESPN.com that he signed the former light heavyweight and cruiserweight titlist from Hungary on Saturday, both of them believing Erdei can make a splash in the United States after a career spent fighting almost exclusively in Germany.

"I have followed him for a while and watched a number of his fights, and he's a high quality guy," DiBella said. "He has superstar status in Hungary. He's like a rock star there. He doesn't need the money. He didn't come back for the money. Coming to America is about legacy and about trying to prove he's belongs with the top guys, that he can beat the top guy. That is why he's coming back."

Erdei, 36, who fought twice early in his career in the U.S., will end a 13-month layoff when he fights for the first time under the new deal on Nov. 20 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.

The fight will be on the undercard of middleweight champion Sergio Martinez's first title defense against Paul Williams. Erdei is scheduled for an eight-rounder against Samson Onyango (20-6, 13 KOs) of Kenya.

"What's coming up next for me is in America," Erdei said. "To be successful there is the next step after having achieved mostly everything in Europe. The big names in my weight division, I want to challenge and defeat them. That's my goal. I know it's going to be a tough and a big challenge, but I have never run away from these kinds of tasks. I didn't want to end my career without giving it a try in the USA.

"We had a few options, especially from U.S. promoters. After a lot of discussions and negotiations, we met with Lou DiBella and DiBella Entertainment in New York. These meetings were always very positive. He made the best offer, and what was very important to me was that he believes in me. From the beginning I have seen Lou DiBella as a really nice person and I have the confidence in him, and I know that he will open the doors to the American boxing market in order to secure a successful continuation of my career."

Erdei (31-0, 17 KOs) held a portion of the light heavyweight title for five years before vacating the belt and moving up to cruiserweight, where he nabbed a title by outpointing Italy's Giacobbe Fragomeni last November. After the fight, Erdei retired. His contract with longtime German promoter Universum expired and he has not fought since.

"I love boxing and that's why I want to continue," Erdei said. "Boxing is my life and I'm a fighter. I was looking for a new challenge after I had been the WBO light heavyweight world champion for nearly six years, had won the WBC cruiserweight crown and my contract with Universum Box-Promotion had ended."

In January 2004, Erdei easily outpointed Julio Gonzalez to win a light heavyweight title. Over the next five years, Erdei made 11 defenses, but faced a slew of second-tier opponents, which DiBella said was a bone of contention between Erdei, who wanted to fight better challengers, and Universum.

"He hasn't taken a lot of punishment," DiBella said. "His weight doesn't fluctuate much. So at 36, it's not a big deal to keep fighting. He doesn't have a lot of mileage on him. He has taken care of himself and believes he has a lot left. But he's not looking for a five-year comeback. He's looking for four or five fights. He thinks he can beat the top guys at light heavyweight -- Jean Pascal, Chad Dawson, that level of guy."

Nicknamed "Firebird," Erdei was a star amateur, going 212-20 and boxing as a middleweight in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. He received a bronze medal in the 2000 Sydney Games.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5699415

never heared of him and or the stiff he beat for a watered down trinket..great amatuer career and unfortunetly maybe he should of came to the usa right after the olympics to get with a top trainer..sounds like if he did that maybe he could of been a exceptional pro rather then a old 36 year old guy with a very limited pro career...i hope he does good cause at least hes got a very decent promoter with some genuine interest in his fighters..thats a start.

I've heard Erdei is actually a decent fighter but was unwilling to venture outside his hometown.

He was the lineal Light Heavyweight champion for awhile, and he did beat Fragomeni for the WBC cruiserweight trinket.

So we need to watch out for a mediocre, boring Eastern Euro, who fights on a once a year basis against the worst mandatory bums his team can find?

NJBeatdown86 wrote:

So we need to watch out for a mediocre, boring Eastern Euro, who fights on a once a year basis against the worst mandatory bums his team can find?

Zsolt Erdei will defeat Pascal,Cloud and Dawson in a fatal four match.

i'm trying to think of a witty response but those tits are distracting me

NJBeatdown86 wrote:

i'm trying to think of a witty response but those tits are distracting me

[staring at bouncing boobies] Sorry, did you say something?

wait, I never even knew he retired. I must have been in a coma.

Yeah, Ali's gif is rather mesmerizing. I could watch it all day.

ive heard of him but ive never seen him fight. i always wondered if he were good. but at 36, i doubt that he will do much of anything anymore. he should have come about 10 years ago.

Ali....what is the title of your GIF......tickle me Bimbo?

Is this the dude that Shumenov wants to fight? Or was that the other Deutcher?

Anyway, Erdei is one of those guys who I know what he looks like and I've heard his named dropped a few times, but I've never actually seen him fight.. (like BJ Flores lol).

NJBeatdown86 wrote:

i'm trying to think of a witty response but those tits are distracting me

+1

Ive heard of the guy, but never seen him fight. I think he was the guy that was suppose to be the real lineal champion at 175, and with a mix up, it was mistakenly given to Roy Jones jr. It would be nice to see him fight Americans like Cloud, Dawson, Andrade, Pascal and Bute. If hes a rock star in europe, then he'll sure be brought into reality once he fights top competition in the states.

Alot of love for Miss Perry's tatas

what is it with you American guys. life doesn't begin and end in the United States. let's think who was the last unheard of European to go to the US and take a title in a massive upset? that would be Dmitry Pirog over Danny Jacobs. when an American guy loses there is a massive list of excuses, when the European guy loses then it's because Americans are far more superior to any other human lifeform obviously. at least guys from outside the US are willing to travel to wherever necessary to achieve their goals. your guys whine like bitches about having to travel. you talk like hometown decisions never happen in America either. very biased and xenophobic