Khattab’s comeback starts with a Kiss

Abdul Khattab’s (11-1-0, 3 KOs) comeback trail begins on September 12 at the Arena Nord in Frederikshavn when the talented Danish middleweight returns to the ring following his first career defeat to face Hungarian Istvan Kiss (20-19, 10 KOs).

“I can’t wait to get back into ring,” exclaims Khattab. A statement familiar from most boxers as they prepare to go to battle, but in Khattab’s case, there’s clearly more at stake. You can definitely sense some relief in his voice.

In May, Khattab, exhausted and unable to continue, lost to Howard Cospolite via a fifth-round technical knockout. It was an unexpected performance from 22 year-old that needed to be analysed.

“I had some blood samples taken, made a cardiac examination and my diet was examined, but there was nothing to show me any concern. I have no good explanation for why I ran out of steam,” said Khattab, who felt he showed up in excellent shape for the fight against Cospolite.

“Luckily, nothing is wrong and I will do my best to erase the impression I gave in my last fight. I’m too ambitious and too proud to let that happen again. I have had a good long holiday and feeling ready and hungry to return.

“Kiss is a good opponent and I’m expecting a tough fight, but this is a fight I need to win. He is a southpaw, so I’ve been sparring with Patrick Nielsen and Hampus Henriksson to prepare myself.

‘’I know Hampus Henriksson very well from my amateur days, he is a very good technical boxer that will only get better and we all know how good Patrick Nielsen is, so I cannot be better prepared to make a great comeback!”

Tickets for ‘Collision Course’ featuring Patrick Nielsen vs. Samir Santos Barbosa and Rudy Markussen vs. Ramazi Gogichashvili are on sale now and available via arenanord.dk. All the action will be shown live on Viasat channels in Denmark. (Photo: Wende)