This Week in Boxing.

We kick off the latest installment of “This Week in Boxing” by heading to Germany where on Tuesday at the Sporthalle in Hamburg, Taras Bidenko defends his WBO Intercontinental heavyweight title against Vladimir “The Hunter” Virchis. In only his fourth professional outing

Bidenko, 14-1 (9), dropped a decision to undefeated twenty-eight-fight veteran Nicolay Valuev in 2002. The Ukrainian native, now fighting out of Germany, won his next ten over modest competition before most recently capturing the WBO Intercontinental belt against Konstantin Onofrei in December of last year. Virchis is also from the Ukraine and has racked up a record of 16-0 (14), beating Julius Francis, Cliff Couser and Balu Sauer over his last three outings. The winner will be on the short list to compete for the WBO world title, currently held by Lamon Brewster. On Wednesday, we go to China, of all places, for some women’s title fights. Korean flyweight Shin Hee Choi, 5-1 (2), defends her IFBA belt against Maribel Zurita, 6-5-1 (1), in a rematch. American super flyweight Mariana Juarez, 14-3-3 (8), travels all the way from California to defend her IFBA crown against North Korean novice Myung Ok Ryu, 1-0 (1). Another North Korean beginner is on the bill, but as a champion. Kwang Ok Kim, 1-0 (1), won the IFBA Bantam strap in her first professional contest last October and will defend it against the far more experienced Maki Koyakashiro, 7-3-1 (1), from Japan. Should professional boxing catch on in the world’s most populous country, the sport can only stand to benefit. Eurosport provides television coverage.

While we’re in Asia we might as well swing by Waitakere Trust Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand where on Thursday, former world title challenger David Tua makes his return to the ring after a two-year absence. The lucky dance partner is Talmadge Griffis, 22-5-3 (14), loser of four of his last six. Tua, 42-3-1 (37) drew with former world titlist Hasim Rahman in March of 2003 in a rematch and hasn’t been seen since. The native Samoan’s best chance at glory came against Lennox Lewis in 2000 for the WBC and IBF belts, but the powerful left hook artist was thoroughly nullified by the champion’s jab. It’s unlikely Griffis will upset the applecart in this instance, but it remains to be seen whether or not Tua can regain the form that saw him best John Ruiz, Hasim Rahman, Michael Moorer, Oleg Maskaev, David Izon, Fres Oquendo and Obed Sullivan. Should he make a successful comeback, the pile driving former USBA and NABF strap-holder has an excellent chance to win the world title that has so far eluded him. TV One broadcasts in New Zealand.

On Friday, there’s lots to choose from but we’ll begin in the US at the Palace Casino in Lemoore, California where lanky southpaw Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero defends his NABF featherweight crown against challenger Adrian Valdez. Guerrero, 14-0-1 (7), has experienced a power surge of late, stopping six of his last seven opponents after having done so against only one of his first eight victims. His most impressive victory was the title winning fourth round KO against Cesar Figueroa this past December, although the best opponent he’s beaten would be Enrique Sanchez, gunned down in eight last June. Valdez, 16-3-3 (9), from Juarez, Mexico brings a lot of experience into the ring and aside from an early domestic loss, the twenty-four-year-old has only come up short against hot prospects Clarence Vinson and Bernard Dunne. Should “The Ghost” continue his winning ways a title shot is certain in the near future, but with Scott Harrison, Juan Manuel Marquez and Injin Chi currently holding the major belts, that opportunity may be still a ways off for Guerrero. Also on the bill, Jennifer Rakoczy and Belinda Laracuente mix it up for the vacantwomen’s NABA lightweight strap. Showtime televises in the US.

Next we head southeast to La Villa Real in McAllen, Texas where streaking Mexican bantam Jhonny Gonzalez meets former NABF super flyweight titlist Trinidad Mendoza. Gonzalez, 27-4 (24), has won his last thirteen contests since dropping two straight to Ricardo Vargas in 2002. The list of knockout victims in that stretch includes Alejandro Montiel, Roger Gonzales and Gilberto Bolanos. The twenty-three-year-old from Mexico City is already the NABO champion and will be risking his number two WBO ranking. Mendoza has seen better days to be sure, as the veteran has dropped his last seven, although to be fair, he has also fought a good level of competition during that stretch, counting Israel Vasquez, Ricardo Vargas, Heriberto Ruiz, Danny Romero, Daniel Ponce De Leon and Adam Carrera as opponents. Gonzalez should find his way through however as he draws closer to a showdown with WBO champion Ratanachai Sor Vorapin of Thailand. Telefutura airs the action in the US and Latin America.

Heading back across the Atlantic on Saturday we land at the Stadthalle in Vleten, Germany where Natascha Ragosina defends her WIBF Intercontinental super middleweight belt against one of women’s boxing most accomplished campaigners, Valerie “The Wolf” Mahfood. Ragosina, 5-0 (4), originally from Kazakhstan but now fighting out of Germany, stopped veteran Yvonne Reis for the title in December but may find life a little more difficult against Mahfood. The American, 18-8-1 (9), has been in more title bouts than her opponent has had professional fights and has shared the ring with Laila Ali (twice), Ann Wolfe (twice), Leatitia Robinson, Kathy Rivers (three times) and other top names. RTL Klub televises in Europe.

Next we take the long flight back to the US for the biggest match-up of the week, a world title unification fight between WBC cruiserweight champion Wayne Braithwaite and WBA titlist Jean Marc Mormeck at the Centrum Center in Wooster, Massachusetts. Of the two, Braithwaite, 21-0 (17), brings an undefeated record to the table having stopped European kingpin Vincenzo Cantatore in Italy over two years ago to win the vacant WBC crown and has since beaten Louis Azille, Ravea Springs and Luis Pineda. Mormeck, 30-2 (21), also earned his belt in 2002, stopping former longtime light heavyweight kingpin Virgil Hill. Since that time, the former French light heavyweight champion has claimed victory over Dale Brown, Alexander Gurov and Hill in a rematch. With the IBF crown vacant at the moment and WBO belt-holder Johnny Nelson contemplating retirement, the winner of this highly anticipated fight will almost certainly be considered the top of the cruiserweight heap. Also on the bill, WBA welterweight titlist Jose Rivera defends his crown for the first time since overcoming Michel Trabant eighteen months ago, meeting Luis Collazo. Additionally, former WBC middleweight titleholder Keith Holmes continues his comeback as a light middle by facing former European champion Roman “Made in Hell” Karmazin in an IBF title eliminator. Showtime televises in the US.

Well that’s it for now, join us next week for This Week in Boxing when we’ll take a look at a selection of fights from those involving such a diverse list of participants as Marco Antonio Barrera, Vassiliy Jirov, Mike Anchondo, Fernando Montiel, Lorenzo Parra, Steve Forbes, Juan Lazcano, Priest Smalls, Alex Arthur, Joachim Alcine, Julio Pablo Chacon, Riddick Bowe, Yory Boy Campas, Fitz Vanderpool and others.

Richard Eberline can be reached at richardeberline@fastmail.fm