Susianna Levonovna Kentikian is an Armenian-German former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2016.
58 Facts About Susi Kentikian
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Susi Kentikian was born in Yerevan, Armenian SSR, but left the country with her family at the age of five because of the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.
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Susi Kentikian is a two-time flyweight world champion, having held the unified World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization female titles between 2007 and 2012, and the WBA female title again from 2013 to 2017.
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Until 2012, Susi Kentikian remained undefeated as a professional, winning 16 of her first 30 fights by knockout or stoppage.
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Susi Kentikian had previously headlined fight cards for the television station ProSieben from 2007 to 2009.
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Susi Kentikian has gained minor celebrity status in Germany and she hopes to reach a popularity similar to that of the retired German female boxing star Regina Halmich.
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Susi Kentikian was inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame in 2022.
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However, due to the violence at these facilities and their poor knowledge of the German language, they left Berlin and moved to Moldova and later to Russia, where Susi Kentikian went to school for a short period of time.
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Susi Kentikian's family received a permanent residence permit in 2005 when she signed a three-year professional boxing contract that established a stable income.
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At the age of 16, Susi Kentikian began working as a cleaner in a local fitness center to help her family financially.
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Susi Kentikian graduated from high school in the summer of 2006 and she eventually became a German citizen in June 2008.
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Susi Kentikian applied for dispensation to be allowed to retain her Armenian citizenship.
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Susi Kentikian lived with her family in an apartment near her Hamburg boxing gym.
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Susi Kentikian discovered her enthusiasm for boxing when she was twelve years old after accompanying her brother to his boxing training.
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Susi Kentikian won the Hamburg Championships for juniors from 2001 to 2004.
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Susi Kentikian won the Northern German Championships for juniors in 2003 and 2004, and in October 2004, she had her biggest amateur success by winning the International German Women's Amateur Championships in the featherweight division for juniors.
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Susi Kentikian found it increasingly difficult to find opponents in the amateur ranks, as few boxers wanted to face her, and her status as an asylum seeker did not allow her to box outside Hamburg.
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Susi Kentikian later blamed overeagerness for her single loss, having fought despite health problems at the time.
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Susi Kentikian was discovered as a professional boxer at an exhibition fight during qualifications for the World Amateur Boxing Championships.
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Susi Kentikian started her professional career on 15 January 2005, with a win by unanimous decision over Iliana Boneva on the undercard of Regina Halmich.
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Susi Kentikian won by a ninth-round technical knockout against Carolina Alvarez, thereby winning the vacant WBA female flyweight title.
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Six weeks later, on 30 March 2007, Susi Kentikian made her first title defense.
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Susi Kentikian beat Maria Jose Nunez with a third-round technical knockout.
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Nunez was knocked down in round two and Susi Kentikian finished the fight one round later with a right cross followed up by combinations that left Nunez defenseless on the ropes, causing the referee to step in.
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Susi Kentikian next faced Nadia Hokmi on 25 May 2007, in her second title defense.
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Susi Kentikian won through a split decision for the first time in her career.
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On 7 September 2007, Susi Kentikian defended her title against Shanee Martin, winning by a third-round technical knockout.
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Susi Kentikian controlled her opponent from the opening bell and the referee stopped the fight after Martin was knocked down from a straight right hand in round three.
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Susi Kentikian met Hokmi in a rematch of their contest six months earlier.
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Once more, Susi Kentikian had the better start, but Hokmi scored during the second half of the fight, again making the bout close.
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Susi Kentikian successfully defended her titles against Sarah Goodson by a third-round technical knockout on 29 February 2008.
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When Susi Kentikian had Ortega pinned against the ropes again, the referee stepped in shortly before the end of round one.
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From round five onwards, Susi Kentikian managed to take over the bout by landing the cleaner punches and she won by unanimous decision.
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On 5 December 2008, Susi Kentikian faced Anastasia Toktaulova, the reigning GBU flyweight champion, although the GBU title was not on the line.
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Susi Kentikian retained her WBA and WIBF titles with a unanimous decision win over Elena Reid on 20 March 2009.
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Reid, who was well known in Germany after two controversial bouts with Halmich in 2004 and 2005, remained largely passive from the opening bell and Susi Kentikian controlled her through the majority of the fight.
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On 4 July 2009, Susi Kentikian fought the WBA Interim super flyweight champion Carolina Gutierrez Gaite.
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Susi Kentikian used her speed and combinations to dominate her opponent through the ten rounds, winning every round on the judges' scores.
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Susi Kentikian ended 2009 by fighting the undefeated Julia Sahin on 10 October for the vacant WBO female flyweight title.
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Susi Kentikian won a unanimous decision to add the WBO title to her collection.
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The bout was very close, as Susi Kentikian was outlanded in most rounds by Raoui.
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Susi Kentikian was unable to continue; the fight was declared a no contest and she retained her titles.
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Susi Kentikian again defended her WIBF flyweight title on 26 March 2011 against Ana Arrazola.
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Susi Kentikian won at least seven rounds on each of the judges' scorecards on her way to a unanimous decision victory.
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Arrazola received a one-point deduction in the sixth round, as Susi Kentikian remained the WIBF champion.
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Susi Kentikian maintained control of the fight throughout en route to a lopsided victory.
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Undefeated with 29 wins, Susi Kentikian next attempted to defend her WBO and WIBF flyweight titles on 16 May 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany, against Melissa McMorrow.
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The WBA title was not on the line in, so Susi Kentikian remained that organization's champion.
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Susi Kentikian sought to utilize a brawling style against Moreno, but was frequently hit by Moreno's punches while moving forward.
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On 1 February 2013, Susi Kentikian fought Sanae Jah for the vacamt WBA Interim female flyweight title.
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Susi Kentikian established command of the fight by regularly moving close to Jah and applying pressure.
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On 8 November 2014, Susi Kentikian fought Naoko Fujioka and earned the judges' decision after 10 rounds.
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Susi Kentikian was cut in the second round by a clash of heads, but won most rounds on the judges' scorecards.
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On 30 July 2016, Susi Kentikian fought in a WIBF title defense against Nevenka Mikulic and won by unanimous decision.
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At the beginning of her professional career, Susi Kentikian was primarily featured in the local media in Hamburg and occasionally in national German newspapers; in particular, her difficult childhood and her long-time uncertain asylum status sparked interest in the press and led to comparisons with the boxing film Million Dollar Baby.
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Early on, Susi Kentikian was considered one of the big talents in German boxing and the media mentioned her as the potential successor of record world champion Halmich, a goal she had set out for herself.
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In 2007, Susi Kentikian was introduced to a much larger audience due to cooperation between German television station ProSieben and her promoter Spotlight Boxing.
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Susi Kentikian took part in a four-round sparring session with the show's host, Stefan Raab, and participated in the competitive entertainment event World Wok Championships, where she teamed with Sven Hannawald, Christina Surer and Markus Beyer to win the four-person competition.