DETROIT – Dearborn boxer Brian “The Lion” Mihtar stepped into the ring March 27  to face the man touted as his toughest opponent to date, former World Boxing Intercontinental Champion Robert Kamya at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Mihtar holds his North American Boxing Championship belt.

But speaking in reflection on the fight which Mihtar won by unanimous decision after six rounds, the Yemeni American fighter couldn’t help but call his victory one of the easiest in his career.
With the win, Mihtar pushed his career record to 13-1 and brought home the North American Boxing Championship belt.

“I feel happy, it was kind of like a graduation party for me,” he said about his night at Joe Louis Arena.

“Even though people were saying he was one of the toughest fights of my career, it ended up being one of the easiest fights of my career.”

Mihtar said that Kamya, who fell to 17-11 after the loss, told one of Mihtar’s team members that he felt in the first round that “The Lion” was probably too strong for him to defeat.

Mihtar realized it too after landing some big shots in the first couple of rounds. To finish out the fight, Mihtar relied on his improving footwork and quickness to secure the decision win.

“I could have fought a better fight, but I didn’t want to get too reckless,” he said. “A lot of people were expecting a knockout but I think I put on a boxing performance by racking up points with the outer jab and my right hand.”

Mihtar said the former champ tried to bait him into throwing more combinations so that he could land a knockout blow counter-attack, but Mihtar recognized the strategy and played it safe before a large crowd at the famous Detroit arena.

The main event of the evening was a Showtime Super Six Classic matchup that was won by Flint native Andre Dirrell over Armenian-German star Arthur Abraham. The fight was an exciting contest that saw each boxer knocked down once before it ended with an illegal blow by Abraham that caused his disqualification in the 11th round (out of 12).

The Detroit crowd roared in approval for Dirrell’s win, but many of them were even more excited about Mihtar’s landmark victory earlier in the night as they showed up waving Yemeni flags and wearing Mihtar merchandise.

“There were a good amount of fans scattered around different places so it was nice,” Mihtar said. “I’m used to fighting at smaller venues where my fans pretty much own the place, but there was a bigger draw of a crowd for the other fighters this time like I’m not used to seeing.

“But after the fight, I was very, very, happy to go up into the stands and see them everywhere after winning the belt.”

Mihtar said he plans to continue working with the Gary Shaw’s popular fight promotion agency and hopes to fight on May 22 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on the undercard of Showtime’s Israel Vazquez vs. Rafael Marquez 4 broadcast. For more information on Mihtar, visit his Web site at: www.brianmihtar.com.