Raab vs. Halmich 3: The ring comes from the hall ceiling – and Raab in top form

One of the big questions before the third and final boxing match between Stefan Raab (57) and Regina Halmich (47) had nothing to do with boxing. Many people asked themselves: What does Raab actually look like? Since his departure from show business at the end of 2015, the entertainer had stayed completely away from the public eye.

At around 10 p.m. – around 100 minutes after the “Final Fight” began broadcasting on RTL – the lights in the Düsseldorf arena were finally dimmed. First, Halmich marched to the ring, then a countdown counted down from 10 to 1 and then back to 10 – but it was not Raab who entered the picture, but musician Helge Schneider, who performed his hit “Katzenklo”. He was not followed by Raab, but by influencer Pamela Reif, dressed as an angel, who sang a hymn of praise to Raab that she had obviously composed herself. Halmich had already been in the ring for around ten minutes.

And then he actually walks down the stairs, in a wide, white coat – and so slowly that there is enough time for users on Platform X to compare the length of the show to the Passion of Christ. Once at the bottom, Raab uses fake dynamite to set off a pyrotechnic display in the hall, followed by a new song called “Paar aufs Maul” with the band and dancers, at some point supplemented by the line “Stefan Raab is back in town”. While he changes behind a curtain, the rappers Sido and Ski Aggu carry on. Halmich has now been waiting in the ring for almost a quarter of an hour.

Halmich has to wait in the ring for almost half an hour

And then he came into the picture: Stefan Raab, with close-cropped hair, sunglasses, white boxing pants, shirtless – and a body that looks more toned than at the time of the official fight. Maybe it's the lighting, but instead of a “killer belly” there is a hint of a six-pack. Before you can let the sight sink in: commercial break. Halmich has been in the ring for 20 minutes now. When it starts, it will be almost 30.

The boxing match will take place in front of more than 13,000 spectators. The visitors in the packed PSD Bank Dome and the RTL audience in front of the television screens had watched more than 90 minutes of retrospectives on Raab's career, interviews with some prominent guests and show performances before the boxing ring attached under the roof of the hall was lowered into the arena.

It is the third encounter in the ring. Fists flew in 2001 and 2007. Both times, Raab from Cologne lost to Halmich from Karlsruhe. For Raab, it would be a TV comeback after years of absence from the screen.

Even before the show, a number of prominent guests were already jostling for their seats. Comedian Cindy from Marzahn, drag queen Olivia Jones and RTL's “jungle king” Filip Pavlovic were among those eagerly awaiting the fight. “I'm not a boxing fan at all. But I'll definitely watch it!” Olivia Jones told the German Press Agency.

The event will be hosted by Raab's old partner Elton, and the commentator will be Frank “Buschi” Buschmann. Laura Wontorra will report from the ring. Raab announced the spectacle around April 1st.