Former Holy Family Cruiser makes Boxing History
Former Holy Family fighter Michel Erpelding made boxing history over the weekend.
The cruiserweight won his country’s first-ever boxing gold medal when he fought his way to the top of the podium at the Algirdas Socikas Tournament.
Erpelding wrote his name into Luxembourg’s sporting history by winning cruiserweight gold at the multi nations in Kaunas.
The 27-year-old’s face will be familiar to people in the Belfast fight fraternity due to the fact he spent considerable time in the Holy Family club.
In fact, Erpelding was an Ulster Elite finalist, losing to Karol Dlugosz in 2020. The 2018 Intermediate Championships entrant also shared the ring with the likes of Rhys Moran, Tommy Hyde, Stephen McMullen and big Kenny Okungbowa.
Erpelding who had Swiss trainer Michael Sommer and a German judge in his corner beat Armenian Melkon Melkonyan 3-2 on Thursday evening, Lithuanian Gelmius Adomkevicius in the semi final and Poland’s Tomasz Niedzvieck in the decider.
The new Luxembourg sporting hero won the gold medal bout in style stopping the Pole after cutting him and dropping him before the ref waved it off.
“The Pole has a lot of knockout wins on his record and after he landed a shot in the second round the referee gave me a standing eight count. I just thought, he can’t take the fight away from me like that, so I gave it more gas afterward,” said Erpelding.
