By Per Ake Persson

Former WBA cruiserweight title holder Firat Arslan is the new mandatory challenger for EBU ruler Marco Huck, who defends the title January 24 against Vadim Safonov from Ukraine. Russian Valery Brudov who was Huck´s previous mandatory challenger left that position to concentrate on a world title shot.
 
WBA heavyweight "champion in recess" Ruslan Chagaev is now announced as fit TO fight after his injury layoff and defends the title against Costa Rican Carl Davis Drumond on February 7 in Rostock. Ruslan was ringside for all three of Universum's "Champions Night" cards during November and as late as November 22 he still walked with a limp. It´s a calculated gamble by Universum to have Chagaev back so soon and it remains to be seen if his injured achilles tendon holds up once heavy training resumes. Universum haven´t announced it but it should be a fact that Andreas Kotelnik´s defense of the WBA jr. welterweight title against Rene Maidana go ahead on this show.
 
Italian middleweight Domenico Spada have been named mandatory challenger for EBU king Khoren Gevor.
 
Javier "El Lince de Parla" Castillejo is not about to pack it in and will be back on March 21to face Pablo Navascues in a non-title ten-rounder in Leganes. Castillejo have been inactive since losing to Sebastian Sylvester in a EBU title fight that also meant that the former multiple champ lost his status as mandatory challenger for WBA champ Felix Sturm. The Spaniard has fought professionally since 1988.
 
Italian jr. middleweight Sven Paris has fights lined up on December 19 and again on January 30. On the first date Hungarian veteran Laszlo Komjathi is the opponent while it´s still up in the air who Sven will face on January 30. The planned fight against WBO I/C champ Christian Bladt appears to be off.
 
Three of the best prospects from Kazachstan are now in Las Vegas for training and perhaps fights. The three are Vitaliy Demyanenko, Kanat Altaev and Semen Uporov and are there on the invitation of Vlad Wharton, who used to manage and promote Kostya Tszyu.
 
"It was a very good fight, I learned a lot, but I also believe if that fight would have been anywhere else in the world I would have won it" says Slovenian welterweight Jan Zaveck on his close, controversial split decision loss to EBU champ Rafael Jackiewicz on November 29 in Katowice, Poland. Ringside observers were very split in their verdict but all had it very close either way while Zaveck´s promoter Ulf Steinforth claimed his man had been robbed.
 
The Ivan Pozo-Christophe Rodriguez fights for the EBU flyweight title that was set for December 12 but will now go ahead January 16 with site remaining Vigo, Spain. The winner will face Italian Andrea Sarritzu.
 
French middleweight Hassan N´Dam N´Jikam won the "Grand Tournoi" with a unanimous decision over Affif Belghecham on Thursday night in Paris. N´Dam is 17-0 and already #15 in the WBA ratings. The goal of the "Grand Tournoi" was to find new stars and this far it´s been a mixed bag as many experienced veterans have done better than the younger so called prospects but N´Dam appears to fill the script.
 
British light heavyweight Clinton Woods has pulled out as co-challenger for the vacant EBU light heavyweight title. Frenchman Rachid Kanfouah remains in the other corner.
 
WIBA flyweight queen Eileen Olszewski defends her title at short notice against German Nadia Raoui on the undercard to Valuev-Holyfield on December 20 in Zurich.