"My fighting style is to make pressure," Strübin told The Jewish Boxing Blog. "I look for the infight and make pressure, punch by punch, round by round, until my opponent is broken."
He made the switch from kickboxing ten years ago and his stance reveals that experience. Though a pressure fighter, he's not a volume puncher, preferring to set up big accurate shots. But his come-forward approach tests the will of his opponents.
"Physically, he's incredibly strong," his coach Mortiz Hager told Zo Online, "He's rather calm and thoughtful, certainly not a hothead."*
Strübin picked up the nickname "The Honey Badger" because he initially fought at a heavier weight, which put him at a height disadvantage. He battled so ferociously, "The trainer said I fought like a honey badger," he told The JBB. He researched the animal and learned they are naturally aggressive and surprisingly fearless for their size. He felt the nickname was apropos.
"Working with Devin is a dream," said Coach Hager in the same Zo Online interview. "He's humble, always tries to implement my instructions, and isn't someone who's too proud to repeat the same exercise over and over again. He knows how important certain automatisms are."
After stopping his first two opponents, he faced 13-fight veteran Valeri Gojiashvili on June 10, 2023. Strübin's pressure and power punches behind a high guard wore down his more experienced foe, but Gojiashvili's hands were more active. The Georgian lost a point in the fourth and fifth rounds for excessive holding, which was his main defense against fatigue. Even with the point deductions, the judges unfairly saddled Strübin with a majority draw.
After a TKO victory, Strübin fought Yoncho Markov on December 2, 2023. During Strübin's ring-walk, Markov stood in the center of the ring and gyrated in an awkward attempt at dancing. In the second round, Strübin battered Markov to the canvas with lefts and then imitated Markov's "dance" before waving for him to get up. Markov became enraged, but his anger signified nothing as The Honey Badger stopped him in the next round.
On April 14 last year in only his sixth pro bout, Strübin fought 45-fight veteran Sandro Jajanidze. Though he used his customary pressure, he was too cautious early and Jajanidze scored a knockdown in the first. Devin did better in the middle rounds, but Jajanidze's experience carried him home. Though Strübin has fought all of his contests in Switzerland and this was a six-rounder like eight of his nine fights, this bout has been his only experience without judges. The sole arbiter, referee Diana Drews Milani, felt the knockdown was the difference and scored the contest 57-56 for Jajanidze.
On April 14 last year in only his sixth pro bout, Strübin fought 45-fight veteran Sandro Jajanidze. Though he used his customary pressure, he was too cautious early and Jajanidze scored a knockdown in the first. Devin did better in the middle rounds, but Jajanidze's experience carried him home. Though Strübin has fought all of his contests in Switzerland and this was a six-rounder like eight of his nine fights, this bout has been his only experience without judges. The sole arbiter, referee Diana Drews Milani, felt the knockdown was the difference and scored the contest 57-56 for Jajanidze.
After a comeback TKO victory in July, Devin faced Eman Rekanovic last September 8. In the second round, a ring malfunction delayed the fight for an extended period. In the fourth round, Rekanovic was disqualified for repeatedly keeping his head too low. After the fight, Strübin proposed to his girlfriend in the ring. She said yes!
He last fought in December, a fourth round TKO victory over the experienced Zdenko Bule in the light heavyweight division.
The son of a Yemeni Jewish mother from Israel, Devin recently worked with undefeated flyweight David Alaverdian at the Nakash Gym in Tel Aviv. "I held the pads for him, and he can definitely crack," Alaverdian told The JBB. "In this boxing circle, I've met a lot of bad people, but I can honestly say he is a good person."
Strübin is scheduled to fight next on June 14 in Ulster, Switzerland. He is certainly one to watch.
*Coach Hager's quotes are translated from German.
