The future of the heavyweight division seems to be Europe and Germany seems to be one of the key boxing countries at the moment, this means looking at German heavyweights for the future may be the way to go. One of the most promising German heavyweights is Erkan Teper (7-0, 5) a former stand out amateur who won a silver medal at the 2008 Military Games.
Teper turned professional in 2010 and made his debut by stopping the likable and hard hitting German journeyman Marcel Zeller in 3 rounds. Just months after stopping Zeller we would see Teper in what was on paper another solid match up for a novice professional when he faced Alexander Kahl. Kahl had been in over 20 fights prior to facing Teper but the extra experience did little to help him as Teper finished the fight inside a minute.
After running up 3 swift stoppage wins Teper would be put in with durable Hungarian Sandor Balogh and for the first time Teper was forced to go 6 rounds before winning the bout on points. Teper was again forced to go the distance as he took on experienced American Robert Hawkins who was dropped twice though managed to survive the 6 round distance.
Teper's 6th fight would see him facing Jakov Gospic of Croatia in a bout for the WBC Mediterranean heavyweight title. Gospic would prove to be a tough opponent though was eventually broken down in the 9th round where he was dropped twice and eventually stopped as Teper won his first title as a professional.
Since winning the WBC Mediterranean title Teper has fought just once in a none-title bout stopping the experienced Cisse Salif who had only been stopped once in has career way back in 1999 by former title contender Ray Austin. The win over Salif took Teper's record to 7-0 (5) and now Teper prepares to defend his title for the first time against an opponent who is yet to be announced. If Teper continues to face solid competition as he has done so far we can expect him to be one of the big threats in the post-Klitschko era.
