Per Ake Persson – Universum boss Klaus Peter Kohl fires back at WBA champ Felix Sturm in today´s Bild Zeitung. Kohl claims a perfectly valid contract and doesn´t understand why Sturm wants to leave. There appears to have been some tension for a long time but it seems as if the tickets – 800 of them – Sturm wanted for friends and relatives for the fight against Khoren Gevor was a deciding factor in the break. Sturm claimed he agreed to pay the tickets but apparently didn´t or was late with it and Universum sent him a letter threatening with legal action..
EBU lightweight champ Anthony Mezaache defends the title against Lee McAllister November 6 or 20 in Glasgow. It´s a voluntary defence by Mezaache who has former British ruler John Murray as mandatory challenger. Murray lost the title this past summer as he came in overweight for a defence against Scott Lawton.
As for John Murray, he is in training for a fight for the vacant British crown October 3 against Jonathan Thaxton and has been sparring with former ABU lightweight champ Sam Rukundo, who now is back in the UK and reunited with Mickey Helliett and has a fight lined up tomorrow – Sep 25 – in Watford. Rukundo, Olympian for Uganda and 14-0-1 as a pro, is based in Uppsala, Sweden, but was fighting out of London for a couple of years when he turned pro
Argentinian lightweight Angel “El Tren” Ramirez, based in Spain, headlines a clubshow in Castellbisbal October 2. Local heroes Iban Gallardo and Xavi Urpi are featured in the other two pro fights on the bill. No name of opponents have been announced.
German welter and former EBU champ Michel Trabant makes his comeback October 5 in Berlin against Omar Siala.
EBU jr welter champ Souleyman M´Baye defends the title against Paul McCloskey November 6 in Northern Ireland with Matchroom promoting.
Former EBU bantam ruler Simone Maludrottu keeps busy with a fight against Nicaraguan Isaac Carrera tomorrow in Olbia. Maludrottu is along with Rendall Munroe mandatory challenger for the vacant EBU superbantam title.
The rematch between WBA lightheavy champ Gabriel Campillo and Beibut Shumenov is on but not much else is made public yet. Campillo beat Shumenov on a close, some say controversial decision, in August in Kazachstan but the controversy started around the doping test and for some time lawsuits or threats of same were flying around. Apparently it´s all settled now.