Marco “Captain” Huck will make a first defence of his recently-won European cruiserweight title when he takes on Italy´s Fabio Tuiach in Oldenburg on October 25. “I am happy to get back into the ring so quickly,” the 23-year-old said. “After beating Jean Marc Monrose I only took a very short break from practice. I want to continue the positive development from the last couple of months in Oldenburg..”
Huck has only the best memories of the north German city. “In March 2006 I stopped Lee Swaby in the sixth round,” he added. “I had great support from the fans and I look forward to coming back.” Just like his opponent, Huck has won 22 of 23 fights. However, he has 17 KOs to his name compared to Tuiach´s 14. “He will be a difficult opponent,” Huck added. “After all, he has got 14 KOs. He is strong on the attack and keeps pressing for the knock-out. I will definitely not underestimate him.”
WBA super-middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler and German mandatory challenger Danilo Haussler will also be in action on October 25.
European Boxing Roundup by Per Ake Persson
Russian jr welter Dennis Shafikov, 16-0, will face former WBA lightweight champ Raul Balbi from Argentina in a non-title ten-rounder on P 3 Boxing´s big show at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki November 28 in what should be an interesting fight. Headlining the bill is “Idi” Amin Asikainen against Khoren Gevor for the vacant EBU title. Heavies Sami Elovaara and Juho Haapoja clash for the national crown. Also on the bill are jr welter prospects Ville Piispanen and Edis Tatli.
Juan Carlos Gomez calls out for Vitali Klitschko in no uncertain terms in a press release from Arena Box Promotion. Gomez was as he says already an established star by the time Vitali and his brother Wladimir arrived to Universum in Hamburg where also Arena boss Ahmet Oener plugged away as a pro with the Klitschko´s current personal manager Bernd Boente later joining Universum as press spokesman. Today Vitali is back on top as WBC champ with Juan Carlos, a former WBC cruiser champ, as mandatory challenger. Gomez should be too small for the big heavyweights but can fight at level we don´t see many heavies of today do – just check Samuel Peter´s performance against Vitali. Klitschko looked indeed good but the Nigerian Nightmare was made for him.
French supermiddle veteran Pierre Moreno face local hero Nikola Sjekloca October 18 in Budva, Montenegro, with WBC´s Mediterranean at stake.
French amateur star Jerome Thomas won´t as previously was planned participate in the World Military championships. Instead he will make his prodebut November 20 in St Quentin.
It looks like the Swedish Federation will go for it and apply to the Martial Arts Delegation for international standards in professional boxing. As it is now we´re stuck with a max distance of 12 minutes to be divided in either four threes or six twos. This is fine for beginners but just don´t work for seasoned pros.
Spotlight Boxing have today announced a big show in Halle an der Saale December 5 with Sergey Gulyakevich vs Vitali Tajbert (for the EBU jr light title), WBA and WIBF fly queen Susi Kentikian, middle Sebastian Zbik and heavyweight Sebastian Koeber headlining.
Pavlik-Hopkins Tuesday presser in NYC
NEW YORK, NY (October 13, 2008) – Undefeated world middleweight champion KELLY “The Ghost” PAVLIK and legendary former two-division world champion BERNARD “The Executioner” HOPKINS will host their final fight week news conference, in New York City, announcing their light heavyweight showdown. It all takes place Tomorrow! Tuesday, October 14, at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Times Square (237 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036), with Lunch beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET followed by the news conference, which will start at Noon ET. Interviews will take place after the news conference has concluded.
Joining Pavlik and Hopkins at the news conference will be Pavlik trainer Jack Loew, Hopkins trainer Nazim Richardson, and promoters Bob Arum and Richard Schaefer of Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, respectively.
Pavlik (34-0, 30 KOs), from Youngstown, Ohio, who has held the middleweight title since September 29, 2007, makes his light heavyweight debut, against Hopkins, who held a world title as a middleweight or light heavyweight every year since 1995. This is the third different weight division Pavlik has fought at in 2008. Pavlik and Hopkins (48-5-1, 32 KOs), from Philadelphia, boast a combined record of 82-5-1 (62 KOs) – a winning percentage exceeding 93% and a victory by knockout ratio of 75%! Promoted by Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions, in association with Caesars Atlantic City and sponsored by Affliction Clothing, Pavlik-Hopkins light heavyweight collision will take place Saturday, October 18, at Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT.