Boxing In Europe: Weekend Results

There were two domestic title fights at Hall Omnisport in Herstal, Belgium on Saturday, with a pair of prospects rolling on to Belgian title victories.

Jean Pierre "Junior" Bauwens, 11-0 (7), of Ghent faced his first opponent with a winning record, Brussels based Tunisian Saber Gasmi, 8-6 (3), and made the best of it, forcing Gasmi to quit in the seventh to win the Belgian Lightweight title.

Liege bantamweight Stephane Jamoye, 11-0 (4), had a tougher assignment in the form of Israeli Elion Kedem, 9-2-3 (7), but pulled out a ten round unanimous decision to capture the vacant Belgian belt.

Jamoye will step up in competition again in May when he faces undefeated Thai WBC World Youth titlist Pungluang Sor Singyu.

At Les Varzelles in Manosque, France, local stylist Karim Guerfi, 10-0 (0), won the French flyweight title with a wide points decision over former European Union Champion Alain Bonnel, 11-15 (3), who has now lost six straight contests.

Recently retired world super middle and light heavyweight champion Joe Calzaghe was back in the ring at the Rhydycar Leisure Centre in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales but as a promoter, not a boxer.

The "Welsh Wizard" presented a fight card that saw Abercynon veteran Taz Jones, 12-6-3 (5), win the biggest fight of his career by stopping local prospect Kerry Hope, 11-2 (1), to score the vacant Welsh Light Middleweight title.

At Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, Beryozovo light welter Ruslan Provodnikov, 11-0 (7), won a battle of undefeated prospects by dropping Uzbekistan's Abdulaziz Matazimov, 7-1 (3), twice enroute to posting a six round UD.

There was a bigger card in Russia on Friday, as Casino Conti in St. Petersburg as Armenian born local hero and reigning Russian Champ Gennady Martirosyan, 16-1 (6), took the vacant PABA Middleweight title with a ninth round KO over Thailand's WBF Light Middle beltholder Kiatchai Singwancha, 26-6 (16).

On the undercard, St. Petersberg cruiserweight Aleksander Kotlobay, 13-1-1 (8), knocked out former WBF Cruiser and EBA Super Middle titlist Jozsef Nagy, 20-4 (14), in the second to win his eighth consecutive contest.

At Palazzo Dello Sport in Frosinone, Italy, Polish light welter Krzysztof Bienias, 37-3 (15), won his 15th bout on the bounce by stepping up to welter and forcing local man Sven Paris, 26-4 (18), to retire after eight rounds in annexing the vacant WBO Intercontinental crown.

Paris had previously held the Italian welter and light middle belts while Bienias had challenged for the European 140 pound title on two occasions, losing to Junior Witter in 2004 and Oktay Urkal in 2003.