The light heavyweight champion of the WBO, Jüergen Bräehmer, his head trainer, Michael Timm and his trainer Christoph Busch, are already in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, where the German champion will face WBA king Beibut Shumenov in a unification bout scheduled for January 8.

"I am totally focused. My preparation for this fight was very good and I'm in the best shape of my life. I am eager for the fight for the two belts and also happy to be in another country and meet other people. This is something new for me," said Brähmer.

Timm added: "Jürgen is completely ready. We've done more sparring sessions than ever, more than 100 rounds. He is ready. We are all very anxious."

The group also included Bräehmer's coach Artur Grigorian and president of the German Boxing Federation, Thomas Pütz, who said, "A unification fight is something special to our organization. It will be a very attractive fight, hopefully with a new German as a double world champion at light heavyweight."