Stefan Raab Stirs Buzz Ahead of Boxing Comeback Against Regina Halmich

Stefan Raab is increasingly beating the drum for his boxing match with Regina Halmich just a few days before the event. For years, the TV veteran was hardly seen or heard from after he bid farewell as a TV face. Now, he is ramping up the frequency of his posts on Instagram and gathering celebrities behind him.

Director Michael “Bully” Herbig (“LOL”) plays a plastic surgeon in the new clip “Only 5 Days Left…” who is supposed to help the comically portrayed, chubby Raab get back in shape. On Saturday, RTL will broadcast the boxing match live from Cologne – it is a revival of earlier spectacle fights and also marks Raab’s return to TV with at least one appearance.

There is speculation as to whether this will be the start of more. For decades, Raab has represented new, funny television. As a host and producer, he set standards for what we define as entertainment. Whether at the music channel Viva, with his comedy show “TV total”, as the mastermind behind ESC winner Lena Meyer-Landrut, or at his Wok WM. In 2015, the 57-year-old retired from television but continued to work behind the scenes. He has repeated the character humor on Instagram before the boxing match several times, starting during Easter with a first sign of life at a picturesque lake where Raab, likely in a fatsuit, displayed a lack of enthusiasm. When influencer Pamela Reif pushes him in a wheelchair through the cosmetic clinic in the new Insta clip, doctor Herbig says: “What is that?” Reif: “That is Stefan Raab.” Herbig: “Oh my God.”

Such Instagram PR strategies with a countdown before an important event are seen time and again. One example: writer Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre had celebrities read individual chapter titles on Instagram before the release of his novel “Still Awake?” last year.