By Per Ake Persson

WBA cruiser champ Guillermo Jones will finally defend the title he won almost a year ago in Germany with a TKO over Firat Arslan. Jones will take on Russian Valery Brudov on October 24 in Cannet Cote d´Azur, France, with AMI Production promoting. More...

British heavyweight Matt Skelton won the vacant European title last night with a tenth round stoppage of former beltholder Paolo Vidoz at the Pala Lido in Milan, Italy.

In a battle of aging heavyweights, 41 year old Skelton, 22-2 (19), rebounded from his failed bid to unseat WBA Champion Ruslan Chagaev in January with a characteristically vigorous effort to outwork the 38 year old Vidoz over the early rounds.

When the local hero finally started boxing, the skills that won Vidoz the Olympic Bronze Medal in 2000 were evident and the Italian seemed to be on his way to a points decision.

But Skelton never stopped trying and the sheer effort of fending off his mauling, wrestling style proved to be too much for Vidoz, who quit after nine rounds to hand the European title over to Skelton.

38 year old Gianluca Branco, 42-2-1 (22), continued his second reign as European Light Welter Champion, stopping Finnish challenger Juho Tolppola, 21-5-1 (9), in the ninth frame. More...

By Per Ake Persson

Newly crowned European Heavyweight Champion Sinan Samil Sam has relinquished the title rather than go through with a rematch against Italian Paolo Vidoz. It will now be Vidoz vs. British fighter Matt Skelton for the vacant title. Deadline for purse bids or agreement is noon on September 8. More...

© Arena Boxing

At a press conference in Ankara, Turkey on Tuesday, heavyweight Sinan Samil Sam received the European championship belt that he had won by majority decision against Paolo Vidoz on July 4. More...

Last week, Arena CEO Ahmet Öner decided to quit his engagement with the German boxing commission (BDB). The BDB didn’t strip his license as falsely reported. Öner himself left the BDB as Wilfried Sauerland and the Klitschkos had done before him.

“I didn’t consider this to be a big thing”, states Öner. “That I laid down my BDB membership and my license was just a consequence of the mistreatment of BDB president Dr. Bodo Eckmann, who pretends to represent all German boxers but only defends the interests of one German promoter, namely Klaus-Peter Kohl and Universum Box Promotion. To my mind, Dr. Eckmann is unworthy of leading a big and reputable federation like the BDB. More...

Today, the EBU announced that Sinan Samil Sam is the new European heavyweight champion. “The Bull from Bosporus” had faced Italian warrior Paolo Vidoz in a 12 round-battle in Ankara , Turkey , on July 4.

The fight ended in a controversial draw after one of the judges had changed his scoring of the 12th and final round. After the EBU investigated the scoring the concerned judge admitted his mistake and confirmed that he keeps his initial scoring of the round of 10-10 which makes Sam the winner by split decision. More...

By Per Ake Persson

The EBU have declared Sinan Samil Sam as winner in the fight for the vacant European Heavyweight title against Paolo Vidoz on July 4. The fight was scored a draw but one of the judges - Frenchman Robin Dolpierre - first had the final round 10-9 for Sam, then crossed out the 9 and scored the round 10-10. More...

After the very emotional discussions right after the European heavyweight championship between Sinan Samil Sam and Paolo Vidoz in Ankara, Turkey on Friday night, Arena CEO Ahmet Öner gained broad support for his reaction to the draw. After the dust had settled, Öner talked to the involved officials, who made clear that they understand his anger. More...

© M.A. Sayer / Arena Boxing

After the dust had settled in Ankara, Turkey last night, the controversial draw between Sinan Samil Sam and Paolo Vidoz in their European Heavyweight Championship bout still led to lots of discussions. “The Bull from Bosporus ” had been the more active fighter over the 12 rounds, but Vidoz could score with his pumping jab. More...

© M.A. Sayer / Arena Boxing

“I am only thinking about Friday night – there is nothing else on my mind right now“, states Sinan Samil Sam. “I am very well prepared for Paolo Vidoz.” More...

Ankara is not only the Turkish capital, it is also about to become a major city for professional boxing in Europe. After last year’s “Bull Fight At The Bosporus” between Sinan Samil Sam and Oliver McCall, Arena will be back in Ankara on July 4 at the Büyük Anadolu Hotel. More...

By Per Ake Persson

Former European Cruiser Champ Johny Jensen has announced his retirement after failing a brainscan, which is bad enough - unfortunately the story doesn´t end there. More...

By Per Ake Persson

British heavyweight Matt Skelton is out of the fight against Sinan Samil Sam for the vacant European title July 4 in Istanbul. Replacing Skelton is Italian veteran Paolo Vidoz. More...

On July 4, the vacant European Heavyweight Championship will be on the line in Istanbul, Turkey. Originally, Matt Skelton was meant to fight local hero Sinan Samil Sam, but the former British and Commonwealth Champion had to pull out of the fight due to a virus infection. More...

European Light Welter Champ Colin Lynes went to Pala Ruffini in Torino, Italy to defend his crown against former titlist and two-time world title challenger Gianluca Branco last night but the wily 37 year old Italian proved to have too much experience for the Londoner, who was relived of his title via split decision in the headlining bout of a big Friday night show.

Lynes used his youth advantage to start off well and even canvassed the seasoned ex-champ in the second frame but expended too much energy in the process and was outfought in the middle and later periods of the contest.

Branco, who gave Arturo Gatti a tough fight in a failed bid for the WBC belt four years ago, convinced two of the three judges of his superiority, but just, as they both turned in a 114-113 card in his favor while the third judge had it 115-113 for Lynes. More...