Hail to the Champ! Abass Baraou is the TSS Fighter of the Month for August

In hindsight, the oddsmakers blundered when they made Yoenis Tellez a 10/1 favorite over Abass Baraou for their 12-round match on Aug. 23 on an MVP Promotions card in Orlando.

True, there was a lot to like about Yeonis Tellez, one of the bright young faces of a new wave of Cuban boxers. He was undefeated (10-0, 7 KOs), well-touted by his prominent trainer Ronnie Shields, and making fast headway in the super welterweight division. The cognoscenti stood up and took notice when he blasted out the clever Spaniard Sergio Garcia in three rounds. Garcia was 35-2 heading in and had never been stopped. At that point in his career, Tellez had only five pro fights under his belt.

But there was a party of the second part, as they are wont to say in legalese, and the other guy, Germany-import Abass Baraou, wasn’t too shabby.

Reputedly 139-17 as an amateur (39-8 per boxrec), Baraou was also placed on the fast track when he turned pro at age 24 in 2018. Pushed into a 10-rounder in his second pro start and 12-rounder in his fifth pro fight, Baraou brought a 16-1 (9) record into Orlando and was riding a seven-fight winning streak. His lone defeat came by split decision in a 12-round match against Jack Culcay, a former Olympian and former world title challenger.

Against Yeonis Tellez, Baraou started slowly, but he kept chipping away at Tellez and sprung the upset, winning by margins of 3, 5, and 7 points on the scorecards after knocking Tellez to the canvas with a barrage of punches in the final 15 seconds of the fight. The scores were arguably a bit wide but the right guy won. Tellez had recently split from Ronnie Shields and this was his first pro fight without the prominent Texas trainer in his corner.

It was easy to underestimate Baraou’s chances as many standout German boxers have flopped in the United States. One is reminded of multi-weight title-holder Arthur Abraham who fought Andre Dirrell, Andre Ward, and Gilberto Martinez in U.S. rings and lost virtually every round. More recently we have the example of Vincent Feigenbutz who brought a 31-2 record into his 2020 fight in Nashville with Caleb Plant and was exposed as a domestic-level fighter. But Abass Baraou, who was born in Germany but spent his formative years in Togo, West Africa, before returning to Germany is not your generic Deutschland boxer.

Baraou’s timing couldn’t have been better.

The WBA anointed him the 154-pound “interim champion” following his victory over Tellez and in a few short weeks he will be elevated to full champion, supplanting Terence Crawford. That moment will arrive when the bell rings for the start of Crawford’s match with Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 13. At the gong, the WBA will formally transition Crawford from a lame-duck champion to an ex-champion and Abass Baraou will inherit his throne.

The ordination comes with a caveat. Baraou won’t have the luxury of picking the opponent for his first defense. Per Jake Donovan, the WBA wants Baraou to defend his title against former 154-pound champ Jermell Charlo who hasn’t fought in two years, not since his failed bid to wrest the world super middleweight title from the shoulders of Canelo Alvarez. Waiting in the wings is Jaron “Boots” Ellis who returns to the ring on Oct. 11 in Philadelphia in a WBA title eliminator against obscure Portuguese campaigner Uisma Lima.

Baraou’s match with Jack Culcay was a thrilling skirmish greeted with a standing ovation at the final bell. His upset of Yoenis Tellez was likewise entertaining, a “high octane, high drama battle” in the words of boxing writer Jesus Milano. Even if the ramifications were not so great, Abass Baraou would have been an easy pick for the TSS Boxer of the Month.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE