European Boxing News: Brewster, Chagaev, Baysangurov, Wlodarczyk, Murat

By Per Ake Persson

It will be Finnish and BBU champ Juho Haapoja that faces ex-heavyweight king Lamon Brewster on May 30 in Helsinki. On paper, Haapoja, 9-2-1, is a huge underdog but Team Haapoja is full of optimism and feel there is a big chance for an upset.

There probably is; Brewster looked very slow in losing to Wladimir Klitschko and in beating Michael Sprott, but the only time Haapoja has fought anywhere near this level was when he lost to Dennis Bakhtov, a man he´s now sparring with. Kali Meehan is also on the show and will face American Cerrone Fox.

Ruslan Chagaev, WBA champ in recess, has closed out sparring for the rematch against Nikolai Valuev. Again, Julius Long was among the chief sparring partners.

Long, 7 foot 1 inches tall, has made a career out of sparring with future opponents to Valuev and also Pedro Carrion and Raymond Olubowale. The technically very skillful Larry Donald has also been among the sparring partners.

Junior middle Zauerbek Baysangurov squares off against Italian Cristian De Martinis on May 30 in Kiev in the headliner of K2 East´s “Comeback Show”. At stake is the vacant WBA Intercontinental title.

Big heav y Alexander Ustinov is again on the undercard to a Klitschko fight and will take on a highly, yet to be named, regarded opponent on June 20 in Gelsenkirchen on the Wlad Klitschko vs. David Haye show.

Polish cruiser Krzysztof Wlodarczyk will be looking for an immediate rematch against WBC cruiser champ Giacobbe Fragomeni following the somewhat controversial draw last weekend.

Fragomeni was floored twice in the ninth round but the second knockdown wasn´t called by British referee Ian-John Lewis. That may have made a difference in the scoring as the round went to Wlodarczyk by 10-8 and not 10-7 as it could have been. This would have given the Pole a split decision win instead of a split draw.

European super middle champ Karo Murat´s defence – not officially announced – against Italian Lorenzo Di Giacomo will now go ahead in August in Germany.

Irish-based Cuban former amateur star Luis Garcia, 5-0 over soft opponents, could be in for a surprise against Gabriel Campillo, who´s a bit of a dark horse on the scene despite holding the European Union title, on May 28 in Baracaldo, Spain.