Sebastian Sylvester and Giovanni Lorenzo clash in Neubrandenburg, Germany on Saturday night for the vacant IBF Middleweight Title which King Arthur Abraham has vacated to participate in the Super Six World Boxing Classic. Boxing-Online.com has caught up with the Hurricane ahead of his second world title challenge.

Q: Mr Sylvester, the fight for the IBF world title against Giovanni Lorenzo is getting closer. Are you getting more nervous?

Sebastian Sylvester: No, not yet. I think that the tension will increase when I see my opponent for the first time and have him right under my nose.

Q: You have certainly seen several of your opponent’s fights on video. Where do you think his strengths lie and what weaknesses could you find?

Sebastian Sylvester: Giovanni Lorenzo can fight on the front and the back foot. He hits very precisely and hard, which is illustrated by his 19 knockout wins. Furthermore, he is somebody who prepares himself very well depending on his opponent. I have got to be extremely careful. I will not reveal his weaknesses. I don’t want him to be able to prepare himself according to what I have seen.

Q: On August 29, you were a guest in Halle (Westfalen). Marco Huck was boxing there against Argentina’s Victor Emilio Ramirez and he won the WBO world title at his second attempt. Has that motivated you?

Sebastian Sylvester: There were two boxers who successfully won the world title at the second attempt in recent weeks. It started with Robert Stieglitz. Then Marco Hulk followed with a sensational win over Ramirez. Both took their second chance and I will also do so.

Q: Are there any things that you think have gone differently ahead of this fight, compared to the build-up to your world title fight against Felix Sturm?

Sebastian Sylvester: Everything has been more relaxed this time, without any bickering. The fight against Sturm had become a hate campaign between us in the weeks before the duel. It is different this time: Lorenzo is the IBF World Rankings number one and I am the number two and the best man, which is I, will win.

Q: Are you happy with your form?

Sebastian Sylvester: There have been fights in the past before which I was not as happy as I am at the moment. Whoever knows me will know, however, that I always want to do things better. Everything should have fallen into place, at the latest, by Friday afternoon before the fight. I haven’t had any black eyes or cuts so far and that is down to the fact that I have simply become more mobile. In addition, the sparring phase has been anything but comfortable. My sparring partners did not take their job lightly and things were done deadly serious.

Q: The Jahnsportforum will be full to the rafters again on September 19 and the fans in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern will be right behind you. Does that comfort you or do you feel more pressure because of this?

Sebastian Sylvester: No, I maybe felt the pressure the first time I was in Neubrandenburg, in April 2008, when the fight with Javier Castillejo was approaching. On my second visit, I already knew what the spectators in the Jahnsporforum are capable of and how they could get behind me. I know what to expect from the fight against Lorenzo and I am looking forward to the atmosphere.

Q: How would you rate your chances of winning the world title as a percentage?

Sebastian Sylvester: 100%.

Mikkel Kessler´s fourth-round TKO victory over Gusmyr Perdomo at MCH Herning drew a phenomenal peak market share of 72 percent. 1.645.000 viewers watched the clash on TV2 during its peak, with an average of 1.342.000 fans (58,2 percent) tuning in between 21:55 and 22.35. “Those are phenomenal viewing figures which tell you something about Mikkel´s popularity in Denmark,” Team Sauerland General Manager Chris Meyer said.

“It was a great night of boxing at MCH Herning. We cannot wait for the Super Six World Boxing Classic to get started. Mikkel is such an exciting fighter. He will fascinate the fans all over the world during the course of the tournament.”

Kessler´s Super Six fights will be shown live on Pay-Per-View on Viasat.