European Boxing News

By Per Ake Persson

WBO Intercontinental jr middle champ Lukas Konecny will now face experienced Frenchman Serge Vigne April 7 at the Universum gym in Hamburg. Marco Schulze, also at 154, will take on Sylvain Touzet. SES promotes.

WBA and WBC supermiddle champ Mikkel Kessler is heading to the US for a combined vacation and business trip, writes Danish media. With Mikkel is promoter Mogens Palle.

David Gogiya’s defence of the European super middle title against Italian Cristian Sanavia have been moved from April 21 to April 27 but remains in Elancourt, France.

Swedish heavy Aldo Colliander won’t fight tonight in Gothenburg and at yesterday’s weigh- in, he refused to weigh-in. I arrived shortly afterwards and met Aldo out on the street where he was very upset and told me that he was facing suspension.

However, it appears that no contracts were ever signed and so now on the fight against German Werner Kreiskott, it is an open question. A big row followed involving members of the Swedish Federation and Aldo.

Most of these guys go back a long time and feuds from years back came to light. Colliander is a firm subscriber of the thought that just because you aren’t paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t out to get you (special thanks to Steve Earle) and can be a bitter man sometimes.

At the same time, Colliander arrived with a fresh cut and three stitches in a bad place above the right eye and it´s difficult to see how he could have passed the medical.

Change of result: March 9 in Hamburg, light heavies Yavuz Keles and Ahmet Buyukbudak fought what looked like a candidate for prelim fight of the year. Neither are very good and it was wild and wildly exciting.

Keles showboated quite a bit and did it so well that the referee stopped the fight as it seemed as if Keles, stunned by a right, had quit by turning his back to the action.

But after a brief break, action resumed and eventually Buyukbudak didn’t come out for the fourth round. After a hearing the German Federation, the BDB, have changed the result and Buyukbudak is now a winner on a first round tko.

March 31, Gothenburg, Sweden: Aasa Sandell won the vacant WBE women’s middleweight title on a six-round majority decision over American Dakota Stone. It was scored 58-56, 58-56 and 57-57.

There were no knockdowns but Sandell was under severe pressure in the last round and looked like a clear loser to most ringside observers. “A robbery” said Bertil Knutsson, active as a promoter in the 60’s and also a highly respected judge and referee. Sandell missed with an alarming rate of her punches and then tired as Stone came on.

On the same bill, heavyweight Mikael Lindblad shut out Bosnian Adnan Buharlilja over four, Croatian light heavy Josip Jalusic knocked out comebacking Giovanni Alvarez in the third. Giovanni started well but appeared to collapse mentally as the going got tougher and tougher.

Rikard Lundby outscored Karl Larsson-Jones over four in a featherweight bout. Lundby controlled the action but Larsson-Jones kept coming.

Jr middle Daniel Hartwig won a split decision over German Mike Ermis.

Lightweights Robert Osiobe and Sam Rukundo drew over four in a tough fight that was hurt by the short distance. These two will be rematched, probably in London and over ten.

Former WBC light heavy champ Tomasz Adamek have been accused of doping in a book, a bestseller, published in Poland called “Tomasz Adamek – true story”.

The book, written by a former member of Team Adamek, claims to reveal how Adamek was on steroids for all major fights and not only that: It’s claimed that the ex-champ also committed tax offences while in the US, falsified documents while importing cars from the US to Poland and have connections to organized crime.

Prosecutors have began investigating Adamek, who have stated he is innocent to everything he is accused of.

Tomasz Adamek turned pro in 1999 to what then was known as Panix Poland with Andrei Gmitruk as manager and Panos Eliades as promoter. When PP folded, Gmitruk started promoting his own shows and then joined the now defunct Modern Sports and Events in Scandinavia with Gmitruk as trainer and manager.

Adamek’s career took off when he signed with Don King Productions and he won the vacant WBC title with a points win over Paul Briggs in 2005.

A win over German Thomas Ulrich followed, but then came a lengthty promotional dispute with DKP that kept Adamek out of the ring for a year before he beat Briggs again.

In February of this year he lost the title to Chad Dawson.

A new promotional company have been formed in Sweden: Pro Box Events Inc with Anders Holmberg, Kjell Tuvemark and Benny Rosen as founders. All are well known in the Swedish boxing community.

The first show is planned for September 15 in Karlstad at the big Lofbergs Lila Arena. Backing the event is Farjestads Ice hockey Team, one of the best in Sweden and the owner of Lofbergs Lila Arena.

Pro Box Events plan to stage a show with ten fights and have applied to the Martial Arts Delegation to put on three bouts with six three minute rounds. The max distance have previously been four threes.

Previously Holmberg, CEO for the new company, had planned to do the show with New Sweden Boxing Promotion, thus far alone on the market, but now he is on his own.

Pro Box Event will also sponsor the new Boxning Magazine, the trade paper that were forced to shut down late last year but now have been revived.

More detailed plans for the September 15 show will be announced April 12 in Karlstad but a local paper reveals that female middleweight Aasa Sandell will be featured in one of the main bouts against Theresa Perozzi with the WBE and WIBC titles at stake.

Also on for the show are heavyweights Mikael Lindblad, Johan Thorbjornsson and jr middle Daniel Hartvig.

The IBF eliminator at cruiser between Marco Huck, 18-0, and Vadim Tokarev, 23-0-1, will go ahead May 5 in Bielefeld, Huck´s hometown. Heavies Timo Hoffmann and Alexander Povetkin are also on the bill in supporting bouts. Sauerland Event promotes.