posted by the EBA - edited by wbaonline.com / photo by Getty Images
Denmark’s Mikkel Kessler regained the WBA Super Middleweight title after stopping previously unbeaten Germany’s Dimitri Sartison on the 12th round of a fight held on Saturday at the Brondby Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark. After putting pressure for most of the bout Kessler finally floored the game Sartison in the eleventh round and eventually finished him off in the last stanza to win the WBA crown which was vacant after Anthony Mundine relinquished it by the end of last May.
Kessler, who was the WBA champion until last November, when he lost a decision to Joe Calzaghe, must now face Danilo Häußler in his first defense.
In another WBA action, Bulgarian Galina Koleva Ivanova captured the WBA female Bantamweight title after beating Denmark’s Anita Christensen.
.-
UZELKOV beats SIMCIC by TKO on 3rd round !!
by
the EBA - europeboxing.com / photos by K2 East Promotions
Last saturday, june 14th, WBA Intercontinental Light Heavyweight Champion VYACHESLAV UZELKOV
(18-0-0) succesfully defended his Title against DENIS
SIMCIC (19-1-0) winning by TKO on the 3rd round. The event was promoted by K2 East
Promotions. Here are some pictures of this Title fight:
.- Pictures
from ORAL vs SIPOS fight !!
posted by
the EBA - europeboxing.com
Photographer Carlos Barrantes has just sent us a collection of pictures from the Interim EBA Middleweight Title between Mahir Oral vs Alexander Sipos, taking place in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. To view them please click here !!
.- MORENO new
WBA Bantamweight Champion !!
posted by
the EBA - europeboxing.com
Last saturday May 31st in Dusseldorf, Germany, Anselmo Moreno became the new WBA Bantamweight Champion after defeating by unanimous point decision to former long time reigning Champion Wladimir Sidorenko. The official scores were:
Stanley
Christodoulou (S.A.) 113-116
Juan Manuel García Reyes (Spain) 112-116
Francisco Martínez (New Zealand) 112-116
The taller Moreno dominated the first 5 rounds with long and distance work-out. It was from the 6th round when former Champion Sidorenko started to win the middle rounds. At the end of the 10th round the scores were: 95-96; 93-97 and 94-96 in favor of the challenger. So if Sidorenko had won the last two rounds the final result would had been a Draw. However it was not the case according to the judges who gave to the challenger the final scoring. However in favor of Sidorenko we must say that he never gave up and made a great performance up to the end of the fight.
Among European media present during the fight it was commented that a possible 're-match' between Sidorenko & Moreno it would be highly appreciated by many Germans and European fans... Here are some pictures of the event:
Official Weigh-in at 'Galerie' in Dusseldorf
Bandaging inspection by WBA
officials to Sidorenko and Moreno.
WBA Ring Officials for this Championship
.-
ORAL new M.C. for EBA Middleweight Champion KHURTSIDZE !!
posted by
europeboxing.com
Last friday May 30th took place in Bilbao, Spain, the Interim EBA Middleweight Title between Mahir Oral (22-1-2 / 9 KOs) vs Alexander Sipos (19-3-2 / 9 KOs) having Oral as the winner by unanimous point decision. These are the official scorings:
Torben
Seemann (Denmark) 115-113
Ove Ovesen (Denmark) 115-113
Daniel Galvan (Spain) 116-113
Now Mahir Oral should fight against current EBA Middleweight Champion Avtandil Khurtsidze (15-1-0)(Ukraine) within 120 days (deadline: September 30th 2008). Parties have 45 days to reach an amicable agreement. Otherwise the EBA will call for a purse bid process.
Avtandil Khurtsidze (UKR)
Mahir Oral (GER)
.-
ORAL vs SIPOS for Interim EBA Middleweight Title !!
posted by
europeboxing.com
This friday May 30th will take place in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, the Interim EBA Middleweight Championship between Mahir Oral (22-1-2 / 9 KOs) vs Alexander Sipos (19-3-2 / 9 KOs) as the main bout of the card co-promoted by Arena Box Promotion (Hamburg, Germany) and Stock Eventos (San Sebastian, Spain).
MAHIR ORAL (left) - ALEXANDER SIPOS (right)
It will be an incredible 12 rounds Championship between two stablemates thanks to the quality from both contenders. Oral has a record of 22 wins with only 1 defeat while Sipos has 19 wins and 3 defeats. The winner of this Interim EBA 160 lbs. Championship will determine the Mandatory Challenger for EBA Middleweight Champion Avtandil Khurtsidze (15-1-0)(UKR). This mandatory defense should take place within 120 days (deadline: Sept. 30th 2008)
MAHIR ORAL (left) and
ALEXANDER SIPOS (right) on previous combats
.-
SIDORENKO vs MORENO this weekend in Dusseldorf !!
posted by
europeboxing.com / Universum
WBA bantamweight champion Wladimir Sidorenko (21-0-2, 7 KOs) has just finished his training camp for his seventh defense of his title against Panamanian mandatory challenger Anselmo Moreno (21-1-1, 8 KOs) this saturday, May 31st, in Düsseldorf, Germany.
It will be the 7th World title defense for the unbeaten "Mini Power-Station," who is currently boxing's longest reigning bantamweight World titlist. He coming off an impressive victory against Nobuto Ikehara in January in Osaka, Japan.
.-
Chagaev vs. Valuev II rescheduled for July 5th !!
by
Universum Box-Promotions
The WBA heavyweight championship rematch between champion Ruslan Chagaev and former champion Nikolai Valuev will now take place on July 5. No site has been named for the fight. The May 31st date was postponed because Chagaev caught a bad cold that required him to break off training.
The Chagaev camp also dismissed allegations made by ex-manager Taymas Niyazov, who told German newspaper BILD that Chagaev is almost blind in the left eye after suffering a detached retina in 2001. "Ruslan is fit as a fiddle," said promoter Klaus-Peter Kohl. "All conflicting messages are simply wrong!"
.- WBA
clarifies Super Middleweight situation !!
by the WBA
head office
The World Boxing Association (WBA) wants to clarify the situation of current WBA Super Middleweight champion Anthony Mundine and the official challenger Mikkel Kessler.
Mundine should defend his title against official challenger Kessler after defending the crown in an optional defense first, which is scheduled for next May 28th against Sam Soliman. In the meantime, Kessler’s camp has requested the WBA to consider the possibility of sanctioning a fight between Kessler and No. 4 contender Dimitri Sartison for the vacant title in the case Mundine refuses to face Kessler.
The procedure in cases where the champion does not honor his obligation against the official challenger is for the WBA to sanction a fight for the vacant title between the two highest available contenders.
However, in Mundine's case the WBA cannot possibly make any decision for now as facts have not unfold yet. Yet, the WBA is closely following this case and will make a decision according to the events produced in the following weeks.
.-
ARSLAN retains WBA Crown against Wilson !!
posted by the
EBA - europeboxing.com
Firat Arslan earned a convincing decision against American Darnell Wilson in the first defense of his WBA cruiserweight title on Saturday in Stuttgart, Germany. The German pressed the fight from the opening seconds, hitting Wilson with regularity from the second round when a left hook sent the American to the ropes.
All three judges ruled the fight 117-111.
The best round for Wilson (23-7-3, 20 knockouts) was the seventh when he picked up the pace, catching the German several times and getting him to back off for a while. “I was worried about a lucky punch until the last. He hit hard,” Arslan said. “I wanted to pressure him so hard he couldn’t use his power.”
Arslan (28-3, 18 knockouts) is a 37-year-old who won the title in November against Virgil Hill. Self-taught, he didn’t have a trainer and manager until his past six fights. Wilson was jarred by a hard left in the 10th round, but has never been dropped to the canvas. Arslan also took some good shots, but also has never gone down. “I fought my heart out,” Wilson said. “I came in feeling confident tonight, but he was better.”
Arslan with his WBA Belt &
WBA ring officials with Jesper Jensen as Supervisor
.- NUZHNENKO draws with GARCIA in
Kiev by
TD10 !!
by the EBA - europeboxing.com
Undefeated WBA Interim Welterweight Champion Yuri Nuzhnenko (Ukraine) kept his Belt last saturday in KIev, capital of Ukraine, with a majority draw decision on the scorecards against Irving Garcia (Puerto Rico) after a technical stoppage on the 10th round from the referee Mikael Hook due to an accidental headbutt that produced a tremedous swelling on Nuzhnenko's forehead.
Although both boxers made an excellent fight, with fast and quality techniques, sometimes they worked too close to each other's heads which caused in the 2nd and 3rd rounds two deep bleeding cuts on Nuzhnenko's heads. Referee Mikael Hook made several warnings to both fighters to keep their distances and to avoid head impacts but on the 9th round - due to another accidental headbutt, as determined by the referee - a big swelling on Nuzhnenko's head started to appear. Referee Hook, after two consecutive examinations from the ring doctor, decided to stop the Championship and to order to go to the scorecards - as it is stipulated on WBA rules on accidental fouls.
The judges official scores up to the end of the 10th round were:
JEAN FRANÇOIS TOUPIN (France):
96-95 (to
Nuzhnenko)
JUAN MANUEL GARCIA REYES (Spain): 95-95
ERKKI MERONEN (Finland): 95-95
So the WBA Interim Welterweight Champion kept his Belt by majority draw decision.
.- NUZHNENKO defends WBA
Crown this saturday vs GARCIA !!
by
europeboxing.com / boxnews.com.us
press conference for the WBA World Welterweight Title in Kiev - Saturday,
April 19th 2008
After more
than sixteen years since claiming its independence, the waiting is finally
over for Ukraine. Recently created K2 East promotional group (K2 and former
National Box Promotions mutual project) presents a historical event on
Saturday, April 19, when unbeaten WBA interim welterweight beltholder Yuri
Nuzhnenko will become the first fighter from Ukraine to put his regalia at
stake in front of the home crowd in the first ever title fight in Ukrainian
boxing history. The show will be held at Sports Palace in Kiev, state’s
capital and its largest city.
Nuzhnenko (27-0, 13 KOs), 31, faces little-known Puerto-Rican
Irving Garcia (16-3-1, 8 KOs), who is currently ranked #15 by the World
Boxing Association, in an optional defense of his title. Nuzhnenko, a pro
since 2000, acquired his belt last December with a close but unanimous
victory over Frenchman Frederic Klose on his foe’s turf. Despite a solid
record Yuri is relatively untested on the highest level as he has never met
any former champions or title challengers inside the ring.
Garcia, two years his younger, is an experienced competitor, who started his
career in 1998. He is a former Puerto-Rican light middleweight and WBC
Latino welterweight titlist but despite fighting over ten years as a pro,
Irving’s ledger consists of only 20 fights (7 less than in Yuri’s record);
the majority of these bouts were against a non-descript opposition. Garcia
is 2-0 since losing by second-round TKO in his initial step-up competition
versus Said Ouali a year ago.
.-
STURM knocks out PITTMAN !!
posted by
europeboxing.com / photos by Sumio Yamada
Germany’s Felix Sturm retained his WBA middleweight title on Saturday by stopping Australian challenger Jamie Pittman in the seventh round.
Sturm (29-2-1, 13 KOs) knocked Pittman down for the third time just 36 seconds into the seventh round, and the referee stopped the fight. Pittman (16-1) began to take a serious beating from Sturm in the fifth round. He was dropped by a hard body punch from Sturm before being sent to the canvas again in the sixth after left-right combination to the head.
The first round was a battle of jabs, with Pittman getting the better of the champion. But Sturm’s stiffer punches began to produce bad swelling on Pittman’s face by the end of the second round.
In the third, Sturm began to land solid combinations off his jab. Pittman tried coming back in the fourth by landing his own combinations, but Sturm was not fazed and kept moving forward with more combos.
.- Braithwaite beats
Hernandez
for WBA Fedelatin Title !!
by the European Boxing
Association - europeboxing.com
WBA Fedelatin Cruiserweight Champion Yoan Pablo Hernandez (14-1, 8 KOs) surprisingly lost his Crowns (also WBC Latino at stake) to former World Champion Wayne Braithwaite (23-3, 19 KOs). Hernandez floored his opponent in the 1st round before a spectacular 2nd round saw both fighters trading fast and strong punches. Braithwaite prevailed in the 3rd, knocking down Hernandez 3 times to take home the belts. "I am disappointed but I will learn from this defeat," Hernandez said. "I did not listen to my coach."
Pictures from weigh-in and bandaging inspection (click on to enlarge):
Hernández left - Braithwaite
right
.- new EUROPEAN Ratings as of
March 2008 !!
by the European Boxing
Association - europeboxing.com
The new European Ratings as of March 2008 have just been released. To view them please click on left-hand-side menu at EBA RATINGS.
.- KHURTSIDZE new EBA
Middleweight Champion !!
by the European Boxing
Association - europeboxing.com
AVTANDIL KHURTSIDZE became new EBA Middleweight Champion after defeating Latvia challenger JURIJS BOREIKO by TKO on the 4th round (1:57 min.). The event was promoted by K2 East Promotions and took place on sunday March 23rd at the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk.
weigh-in at 'Meteor Sportpalace' in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine
Both fighters made a great first two rounds but on third round Khurtsidze started to dominate the action with fast and powerful combinations of straight left punches and right hooks. On early 4h round Khurtsidze sent his opponent Boreiko to the canvans and although he recovered after the 'mandatory eight count', the local start Khurtsidze raise up the pressure forcing the referee to stop the contest as Boreiko was defenseless to the strong actions executed by Khurtsidze.
Avtandil Khurtsidze (UKR)
Jurijs Boreiko (LAT)
Picture of AVTANDIL KHURTSIDZE as new EBA Middleweight Champion:
Khurtsidze as new 'EBA' Middleweight Champion
Here are some other pictures from the event: PICTURES
.- ANDREAS
KOTELNIK new WBA Super Lightweight Champion !!
posted by
europeboxing.com - edited by wbaonline.com
Andreas Kotelnik made good on his second chance at the WBA light welterweight title. Kotelnik recorded a technical knockout of Gavin Rees in the 12th round Saturday to win the crown at International Arena.
The 30-year-old Kotelnik battled then-champion Souleyman M’baye to a draw on March 10, 2007.
A former Olympic silver medalist for the Ukraine, Kotelnik (29-2-1, 13 KOs) controlled the second half of Saturday’s fight. He landed a damaging right hook in the final minute of the 12th that wobbled Rees, who grabbed hold of his opponent but fell to the canvas when referee Luis Pabon attempted to separate them.
After getting to his feet, Rees (27-1) was met with a flurry of punches, forcing Pabon to halt the bout at the 2:34 mark.
A native of Wales, Rees’ title reign was brief. The 27-year-old had just won the crown from M’baye on July 21 with a unanimous-decision triumph.
.- AVTANDIL KHURTSIDZE heads
for EBA Middleweight Title !!
by the European Boxing
Association - EBA
K2 East Promotions from Kiev have scheduled on next Sunday, March 23rd, a great Boxing event at south-eastern Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk headlined with the vacant EBA Middleweight Championship between Ukrainian good prospect AVTANDIL KHURTSIDZE (13-1-0) facing latvian
Avtandil Khurtsidze (UKR) - EBA Challenger
Khurtsidze had his first fights in the USA (New Jersey, NY, Maryland, ...) in 2004 and 2005. But after his first and only defeat he return to Ukraine on early 2007 and continue his professional career with National Boxing Association and now under the new company K2 East Promotions. This will be his first attempt to get a major Belt so Ukrainian fans have the chance to enjoy with this great EBA Championship thru National UKTV.
.- DAVID HAYE destroys
MACCARINELLI in 2 rounds !!
by the European Boxing
Association - EBA
DAVID HAYE scored a 2nd round technical knockout over ENZO MACCARINELLI at the O2 Arena on Saturday to keep his WBA and WBC titles, and adding the WBO. Making the first defense since winning the belts from Jean-Marc Mormeck on November 10, Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) landed a number of punches in the second round to knock down his Welsh opponent. The 27-year-old Maccarinelli - who entered as the WBO champion - beat the count but still appeared to be dazed, forcing referee John Keane to stop the fight at 2:04.
CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE
LEFT -
David Haye as new undisputed Champion
RIGHT -
Enzo Maccarinelli having his bandaging done by Dean Powell
A native of London, Haye, 27, now plans to make the jump to the heavyweight division. The loss was the first since May 12, 2000 for Maccarinelli (28-2), who had won his previous 25 fights. On the undercard the brave and young prospect KEVIN MITCHELL became British and Commonwealth Super Featherweight Champion by defeating compatriot CARL JOHANNESON by TKO on the 9th round.
Kovacs, Keane, O'Connell, Giles, Coyle, Torralba & Thomas.
Ring Officials appointed for this WBA, WBO and WBC
unified Cruiserweight Championship
Photo by Andre Boge / Universum Box Promotions
WBA female Flyweight champion Susianna Kentikian retained her title for the fifth time by scoring a TKO win in the third round over Sarah Goodson on Friday night in Hamburg, Germany. Kentikian’s power was too much to be handled by her opponent, who put her best effort. The “Killer Queen” landed some vicious body shots that eventually hurt Goodson prompting referee Mikkel Hook to halt the actions in the third round.
.-
UZLKOV KOes DOMINGUEZ in 3 rounds !!
by
europeboxing.com
Last Thursday Feb. 21st in Kiev, Ukraine, VYACHESLAV UZLKOV retained
his WBA Intercontinental Light-Heavyweight Title against JULIO DOMINGUEZ from
Argentina by KO on the 3rd round.
(Uzlkov left - Dominguez right)
Both contenders showed a very good strategy and powerful punches in the first two rounds, which were quite levelled at the three judge's scorecards, but on the third round (1:52 min.) Uzlkov connected a strong right hook that sent Dominguez to the canvas. Although initially he stood up before the mandatory count made by Swedish referee Mikael Hook he looked completely defenseless which made his chief cornerman and former World Champion Marcelo Dominguez throw in the towel.
The event was promoted by K2 East Promotions and the Kiev's Sport center was almost sold out. Now Uzlkov (World rated #8) looks ahead and hopes in the close future for a World Title shot.
(Kiev's Sport Arena + WBA ring officials)
.- Sturm focused on next fight !!
by wbaonline.com
/ Photo by Marianne Müller
WBA middleweight champion Felix Sturm appeared on Wednesday at a press conference to officially announce the April 5 Universum Champions Night card in Dusseldorf, Germany.
"After my last fight in October, I took a good break," said Sturm, who retained his belt with a draw against mandatory challenger Randy Griffin last October. "Maybe it was a bit too much," he admitted, "having three tough fights in six months. Now my team and I notice that I'm full of new energy and training is fun again. The new training program with Clive Salz, with whom I have worked intensely at my nutrition and fitness, has helped me immensely and released additional motivation. I am doing very well on it and my present condition is far ahead of schedule. I am very happy about my first appearance as a boxer in Dusseldorf, which is just a cat's jump is away from my hometown of Leverkusen."
Regarding his opponent, WBA #13 Jamie Pittman (16-0, 7 KOs), the champion was very respectful. "An unbeaten fighter who can hit hard, promises to be an interesting fight," commented Sturm. "Because he's a southpaw and is quite big for a middleweight, we have to see what we come up with. At any rate, I want to thrill the fans in Dusseldorf with a good fight against a good opponent. I only want to compete against the best!"
.-
Valuev, Liakhovich media work-out !!
by
Johannes Berendt
Nikolai Valuev and Sergey Liakhovich underwent a public training session
today at the Adidas Brand Center in Herzogenaurach. The two former champions
will battle out a WBA eliminator in Nurnberg on Saturday night. „I want to
win back my title,“ the Russian Giant (47-1, 34 KOs) said. „That´s why I
will defeat Liakhovich. He is a strong opponent but I will beat him.“
The White Wolf was in the ring first today, undergoing just a light practice with skipping and shadow boxing. „I am without a doubt much faster and more mobile than Valuev,“ said Liakhovich (23-2, 14 KOs). "I will take advantage of that in the ring. My nickname is 'White Wolf'. Wolves are very dangerous and good hunters. On Saturday I will go and hunt the Russian Giant!"
After Liakhovich was finished, Valuev stunned the crowd by stepping over – not through – the ropes. He, too, went through a light drill. „I´m ready for Saturday,“ the biggest and tallest champion of all time told the reporters at the scene.
On the undercard, cruiserweight Alexander Frenkel (13-0, 9 KOs) will try to continue his march up the rankings by defeating former IBF champion Arthur Williams. Many experts believe the youngster has a golden future ahead. „I am not thinking about the future,“ Frenkel stated. „All that matters is the fight against Williams.“
.- WBA #2 Middle Castillejo To face Sylvester !!
by wbaonline.com
- Per Ake Persson
After an agreement was reached today between Sauerland Event and Rimer Box WBA I/C middle champ Sebastian Sylvester´s defence against Spaniard Javier Castillejo is on and will go ahead April 12 in Germany.
With this
fight Castillejo, already WBA mandatory challenger for Felix Sturm, and
Rimer Boxe take a big risk. A loss to WBA #4 Sylvester means no third fight
against Sturm and probably the end of his long and distinguished career. For
Sylvester it´s a great opportunity to reach the top and get a shot at Felix
Sturm in a big German showdown. The one left out in the cold is Finn Amin
Asikainen, who fight Yori Boy Campas tomorrow in Helsinki. Amin split two
fights with Sylvester and should have had a third fight against Castillejo.
WBA super lightweight champ Gavin Rees´ defence against Universum signed
Ukrainian Andreas Kotelnik will go ahead March 22 in the Cardiff.
WBA super welterweight interim female champion Karolina Lukasik from Poland
goes for a unification on March 1 in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago,
against Jisselle Salandy, who holds the WBA and WBC titles.
Virchis-Gomez: Universum won the purse bid on January 14 and should then
stage the fight within the next 90 days - otherwise they lose to chance to
stage this intruiging matchup. The have for now set March 8 in Krefeld as
fightdate, something Arena and Gomez apparently refuse to accept. The
question is if they can do that - on the other hand who else can Virchis
square off against in this WBC eliminator inside the 90 days?
The second "Grand Tornoi" event is again staged at Cirque d´Hiver February
21 in Paris. Nominal headliners are lightweights Anthony Mezaache vs Pierre
France Bonicel in a national titlefight. In the tournament itself Thierry
Karl, fresh off an upset win over Dejan Ribac in Serbia, face Sylvain Touzet
while Mehdi Bouadla fight Affif Belgecham. Cruiser Valery Brudov, heavy
Carlos Takam and lightweight Jean Nicolas Weigel are also on the bill.
Should Karl win his fight a showdown with rival Francois Bastient awaits
March 21 at the same location. Bastient won their first encounter but just
lost a WBA I/C fight to Sebastian Sylvester.
K 2 East, formerly known as National Boxing Promotions, plans to stage it´s
first show February 21 in Kiev with ligheavy Vyacheslav Uzelkov headlining.
Polish heavy Markus Tomala have signed with Spotlight Boxing and makes his
prodebut February 29 in Hamburg.
fightnews.com / photo by Moritz Müller
Monday's press conference in Dusseldorf was a "one-man show" by WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev after his opponent Matt Skelton was a no-show. Skelton decided to remain a few extra days in his hometown of Bedford, England, and will arrive Wednesday in Germany. The unbeaten Chagaev (23-0-1, 17 KOs) will make the first defense of his world title on Saturday at the popular Burg-Wächter Castello fight venue.
"I am very happy to be here in Dusseldorf," said Chagaev. "It's a beautiful city for my first title defense. I'm concentrating on the fight Saturday and I'm a little impatient. My opponent Skelton ducked me today and if he can't come to the official press conference, that's his problem. I can't say any more about him. I know his strengths and weaknesses. He will feel my good form and my strengths on Saturday in the ring. I am totally focused on this fight!"
Trainer Michael Timm added that Chagaev prepared against large and aggressive sparring partners. "Our preparation has been very long and intense," he said. "Ruslan's fitness and athletic abilities are better than before the fight against Valuev." As for Skelton, Timm stated, "Matt Skelton is a strong man who has a good punch and was able to beat Michael Sprott and Danny Williams. His KO rate speaks for itself. He's certainly not coming to Düsseldorf to collect a bouquet of flowers and a paycheck."
Skelton made the following statement by phone after being teleconferenced into the presser: "I would like to apologize for my no-show, but I needed peace during these two days in my preparation for the fight. But, on Wednesday I'll certainly come to the public training session in Düsseldorf. I expect a good and tough battle on Saturday. Ruslan ist wie ich ein aggressiver Boxer und so wird es mit Sicherheit ein toller Kampf. Like me, Ruslan is an aggressive boxer, so it will certainly be a great fight. I am also prepared for 12 rounds. I have waited a long time for this chance. I will use this chance for the title and the belt and I will win!"
The undercard will include four additional heavyweight bouts. In the co-feature, WBA Intercontinental heavyweight titleholder Taras Bidenko (24-2, 12 KOs) will face veteran Cisse Salif (22-8-2, 20 KOs).
.- Castillejo KOs Carrera in thriller !!
by Wolfgang
Schiffbauer / www.fightnews.com
In December of 2006, Javier Castillejo stepped into the ring in Berlin, Germany to defend his WBA middleweight crown against mandatory challenger Mariano Natalio Carrera from Argentina. The 39-year-old Spaniard had won the belt five months earlier when he scored a shocking TKO over highly regarded Felix Sturm in Hamburg.
In a brutal battle, Castillejo was upset and lost his title to Carrera. But weeks later, the Argentinian was tested positive for Clembuterol. As a result, the bout was changed to a “No Contest”, Castillejo got his WBA title back and Carrera was suspended.
Since then, Carrera, at 27 years of age, had scored two easy TKOs over journeyman opponents in Argentinia and Nicaragua. On the other hand, Castillejo faced Sturm in April 2007 in a rematch. And lost. This time fair and square, by unanimous decision.
Now both, Castillejo, ranked third by the WBA, and Carrera, ranked second, faced each other again in a WBA middleweight title eliminator at the Hohenstaufenhalle in Goeppingen, Germany. The bout was promoted by Spotlight Boxing and turned out to be just as good as their first one – a German, or maybe even European, fight of the year candidate.
The first two rounds were dominated by the Spaniard. Both exchanged a lot of punches but it was Castillejo who got the better of it. Especially the uppercut (the punch he knocked out Sturm with) worked well for the former world champion. The tide turned dramatically in the third as Carrera woke up and stunned his foe with straight right hands to the head and good body shots. Seconds before the bell, Castillejo looked out on his feet but was able to finish the round. And come back strong.
The fourth was another give and take battle. But Carrera got sloppy with his punches and the 39-year-old Spaniard scored with a great right hand nearing the end of the round. Both took a break in the fifth. Until the final seconds of the round. Just before the bell a hard right hand connected on the jaw of Carrera and right after the bell, he went down. Although he looked hurt, he got up immediatly. Referee Steve Smoger rightfully issued a eight-count and declared it a knockdown.
Going into the sixth, Castillejo's killer instinct took over. From the beginning, he went after Carrera and hurt him with several combinations. The Argentinian seemed out of it, standing at the ropes and taking vicious punches by his opponent. But suddenly he came back, landing hooks and straight punches to the head of Castillejo. However, just as it looked like Carrera had turned it around again, Castillejo came back. For a final assault, he hit the twelve year younger Carrera with blazing uppercuts on the inside, forced him back into the ropes. A right hook followed by two brutal uppercuts knocked Carrera down. After the first uppercut, he lost his mouthpiece, after the second, his head turned. Carrera barely got up but one of his cornerman was already into the ring to stop the bout. It did not look like Smoger would have let him continue anyway. Official time was 2:14 minutes of round six.
It was a thrilling fight between two warriors. But Castillejo seemed more game, landed the harder shots. Carrera came back strong twice but so did the Spaniard who deserved the victory. Carrera looked sloppy at times while “El Lince De Parla” Castillejo aggressivly went forward and landed the harder blows. Carrera, however, had his moments and should still be considered a worthy player in the middleweight division. He falls to 31-5.
With the victory, Castillejo, now 62-7 with 45 KOs, is in line for a rubber match against WBA champion Felix Sturm, who was in attandance in Goeppingen. In July 2006, Castillejo scored a tenth round TKO over Sturm. In April 2007, Sturm evened the score with a unanimous decision victory. A rubber match could settle the score once and for all and determine who really is the better fighter of these two.
.- Calzaghe wins unanimous decision over Kesslerby Mark Staniforth Special to PA SportsTicker / Photo by Sumio Yamada
CARDIFF, Wales - Joe Calzaghe was crowned undisputed world super-middleweight champion after winning a unanimous decision over Mikkel Kessler which secured his place in the pantheon of great post-war fighters. The 35-year-old Welshman was forced to draw on every inch of his experience and skills to repel the Dane by scores of 117-111, 116-112, 116-112 on the judges' cards and add the WBC and WBA titles to the WBO belt he successfully defended for the 21st time.
.-
Sauerland Event wins purse bid for Valuev v Liakhovich !!
by Johannes Berendt
Sauerland Event today won the purse bid for the WBA heavyweight eliminator
between former champion Nikolai Valuev and Sergey Liakhovich. Sauerland´s
winning bid was $670.000, with Don King Productions offering $650.000. "We
are very happy to have won the bid," Sauerland managing director Chris Meyer
said. "The fight will probably take place in three months and is likely to
be staged in Germany."
Valuev (47-1, 34 KOs) suffered the first loss of his career in April when
Ruslan Chagaev clinched a close majority decision in Stuttgart. The 34-year-old
bounced back with a clear points victory over Jean-Francois Bergeron five
months later. He can´t wait to get back in the ring with Chagaev to erase
the darkest hour of his career. "I want to win my title back," Valuev said.
"But I have to defeat Liakhovich first. I have met him once in Los Angeles
prior to my fight in Chicago. He is technically very strong. It will be a
hard fight but I will win."
Valuev is likely to stage his training camp in Japan where his new coach
Alexander Zimin has spent many successful years. As always, Valuev is then
expected to travel to Berlin for the final tune-up some six weeks before the
showdown.
.- Fight of the Year in
Europe: Kessler and Calzaghe, face to face !!
by the European Boxing
Association - EBA
WBA and WBC champion Mikkel Kessler and WBO champ Joe Calzaghe met face to face on Tuesday for the first time since agreeing to put their titles on the line on November 3 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff.
The pair attended a New York press conference, along with their respective promoters, Mogens Palle and Frank Warren.
"I can't wait for November 3 when I will get the chance to prove I am the best super-middleweight in the world," said Calzaghe.
"HBO have been involved in some great fights recently, but I think this will be the fight of the year, anywhere in the world. "This is the fight I've wanted above all others, and when I beat Kessler it will help cement my legacy.
"He's a good
fighter and I've got a lot of respect for him, but I showed how good I was
against Jeff Lacy, and I plan to put in a similar performance against
Kessler."
Both fighters are unbeaten, but at 29 Kessler is six years younger than
Calzaghe and feels it is his turn to take over at the top of the super-middleweight
division.
"It's a dream come true," said Kessler. "I have so much respect for Calzaghe,
but I believe I will win.
"I would have loved to have had the fight in Denmark, but sometimes you have to be prepared
.- Kentikian destroys Martin !!
by
wbaonline.com / Wolfgang Schiffbauer
The fourth "ProSieben Fight Night" took place Friday night in front of 3,500 spectators at the Burg-Wächter-Castello in Dusseldorf, Germany. The card, promoted by Spotlight Boxing, featured a specacular performance by WBA female flyweight champion Susianna Kentikian (18-0, 14 KOs), boxing's newest female superstar, who absolutely destroyed top contender Shanee Martin (8-4) in three sensational rounds.
In probably the best performance of Kentikian's career, the "Killer Queen" completely overwhelmed Martin, finally dropping her hard to prompt a stoppage at 1:14 of the third.
In a competitive clash between world rated super middleweights, WBA #9 rated Dimitri Sartison (21-0) defeated stablemate and WBA #4 rated Gusmyl Perdomo (14-2) by unanimous decision after ten rounds. The judges scored it 97-95 and 96-95 twice for Sartison.
.- RUBEN DIAZ new EBA
Middleweight Champion !!
by the European Boxing Association - EBA
RUBEN DIAZ became EBA Middleweight Champion by
defeating previously unbeaten French Contender LAURENT GOMIS by point
decision.
new EBA Middleweight Champion - RUBEN DIAZ
Spanish Middleweight and Super Middleweight Champion RUBEN DIAZ was ahead on all three scorecards:
ARTUR ELLENSOHN: 115-112
TORBEN SEEMANN: 116-111
JOHN COYLE: 115-112
Laurent Gomis suffered a knockdown on 3rd round after a strong combination from Ruben Diaz. However the French contender recovered and continue battling Diaz all the way to the end of the Championship. The referee was Dutch Lahcen Oumghar. Here are some pictures of the weigh-in, press conference and rules meeting:
Press conference on Friday June 22nd (left) - EBA Belt (right)
RUBEN DIAZ weigh-in (left) - LAURENT GOMIS weigh-in (center) - face-to-face of
both contenders (right)
Rules meeting with the Ring
Officials and both manager
.- RUBEN DIAZ
live on Eurosport this saturday !!
by the European Boxing Association
Spanish Middleweight and Super Middleweight Champion RUBEN DIAZ warms up
for this saturday June 23rd EBA Championship fight in Bilbao, Spain,
which will be live for 57 European countries through Eurosport TV channel.
His opponent will be Levan Shonia from Georgia.
Bilbao, June 23rd - live on Eurosport
Ruben Diaz (Left)
Ruben Diaz has a very good record of 11 wins, 1 loss and 1 draw. But probably the most important issue on his record is the fact that he has fought almost 70% of all his professional fights outside his hometown (Pamplona), some of them against quite credible and strong opponents. Diaz quoted: "this Title fight will be my toughest challenge so far. If I am successful next saturday my next goal could be facing unbeaten compatriot Pablo Navascues".
On the undercard there will be several international stars like Frenchman Ali Chebah, German Willi Fischer, Amaro Diallo, Alex Bone, etc ... The event will start at 21:00 live on Eurosport next Saturday, june 23rd 2007. Promoter of the event will be STOCK EVENTOS S.L., associated with R2 Image & Events.
.-
YENTOUR CHOUKRI retains EBA Belt in St. Etienne !!
by the European Boxing Association
EBA Welterweight Champion YENTOUR CHOUKRI
(17-2-0) successfully defended his Champion Belt last saturday June 16th
against Georgian GEORGE UNGIADZE (12-3-0) with a unanimous point
decision WPTS12 UD. The official scorecards were: OVE OVESEN (119-109);
MANUEL MARITXALAR (117-111); PAWEL KARDYNI (120-109). Torben Seemann Hansen
was the supervisor of the EBA Championship with the collaboration of
the French Boxing Federation.
Although the Champion was clearly ahead on all scores the fight was quite competitive and Ungiadze made also a great performance, though the Champion CHOUKRI maintained the control of the fight, speacilly after the 4th round. These are the pictures from the Champion (at bandage inspection) plus the Ring Officials appointed.
YENTOUR CHOUKRI - EBA Welterweight Champion
EBA Ring Official