– The next month will be decisive
On January 28, Kai Robin Havnaa (33) goes to fight in Chateau Neuf in Oslo. The plan is that it will be started on a very hectic year for the undefeated professional boxer.
– It feels fantastically good that things are now falling into place, because there were periods during the corona that I really considered giving up, says Havnaa to VG.
March 19 in 2022 was the last time he went into battle, and it was the first time he was in the ring since the victory against Argentine Mariano Gudino in November 2019. Now it is the seasoned Egyptian Hany Atiyo who will stand in the opposite corner in the very Chateau Neuf in Oslo.
– I just have to wait, the next few months will be absolutely necessary for my career, says Hava firmly.
The convention will be broadcast live on VG+ Sport on Saturday 28 Januaryand among others Bernard Angelo Torres from Gran will also be in action:
Tangstad debut
Steffen Tangstad himself made his professional debut in the same premises at Majorstua on 1 October 1980 – one of the last events organized on Norwegian soil before the ban on professional boxing came.
– These are cool premises with a bit of historical buzz, Havnaa says happily.
– What about your opponent – how good is he?
– He is very unpredictable, one day he looks really bad and then he flashes. Of course that’s a guy I’m going to beat.
Atiyo has had four fights in 2022, and among other things was in the ring against Swedish Badou Jack – ranked as the world’s 15th best cruiserweight – in May. It ended with a knockout loss in the first round. He has previously also been in the ring with the legend of Roy Jones Jr. That too was a knockout loss.
– I am more of a knockout boxer than a technical boxer, so it should be possible to stop him before the time. Well, I’ve become so experienced that I don’t chase that knockout, because it has to come naturally, says Havnaa.
He turns 34 on January 20 and has 14 knockout victories in his 17 fights after turning pro in 2014. In May 2020, it was clear that he would have a title fight in the association with the IBO against South African Kevin Lerena.
But then it was this corona, and the World Cup match never came off.
– At times, I have thought a lot about different scenarios and how it could have been if that match had gone awry. To be completely honest, I think about it far too much for a few months, says Havnaa and adds:
– When it was closed down and there was little to think about, I could ponder even more.
Back with a knockout victory
It was then that he also really considered packing away the boxing gloves for good.
But it was a long-awaited comeback at a convention in Berlin in March. The promoter company Wasserman, formerly Sauerland, put Havnaa in the ring against Ervin Dzinic. Havnaa did the job, and it was a technical knockout victory in the second round.
But then the cooperation with Wasserman Boxing stopped after a year. Well, he stands more on his own two feet, and it is Norway Box Promotion with well-known Max Mankowitz from Oslo Bokseklubb who organizes the convention on 28 January.
– It was undramatic. I will always be grateful for what Nisse Sauerland and the rest of Team Sauerland have done for me since 2014. Not least they put me in contact with the world’s best coach, Havnaa asserts.
Visited the coach in New York
Because it was Team Sauerland that ensured that American Joey Gamache started training Havnaa. That collaboration has also continued after Gamache moved back to New York.
– I was on a training stay there recently, and the weeks I got there gave me much more than I had expected in advance, Havnaa says happily.
There he also got to spar with his old training buddy, Swedish Otto Wallin, who, among other things, has been in the ring with Tyson Fury himself.
– Otto and I started at roughly the same time in Copenhagen under Joey, and it has been very inspiring to follow his career. I’m going back to Joey and Otto after my match at Chateau Neuf.
The plan was also for Gamache to come over to sit in the corner for Havnaa against Atiyo, but now it looks like Wallin will be fighting around the same time.
– Then I have to find another solution, but it has to work out, Havnaa asserts.
He describes 2023 as the year that «make it, or brake it».
– I have been very patient in the past, but now I have to strike while the iron is hot. I have trained hard all the way and kept in shape, so now it must be regular in the future.
He wants it to be a convention in Arendal or Kristiansand on our side, and the way forward is clear:
– It has never been a secret at the WBO federation is something special for me. It was there that dad became world champion. I thank for a fight for the EC title, or an intercontinental title there. Then suddenly I’m in the top 15 ranking, and then anything can happen, Havnaa asserts.
PS! Dad In 1990, Magne Havnaa became the first, and so far only, Norwegian men’s boxer with a World Championship title in one of the four major federations. He secures the WBO title at cruiserweight on National Day 17 May.