By David P. Greisman

The first half of 2005 saw a fantastic amount of activity featuring boxing's champions, and as the second half gets underway, the schedule is filling up with more fight cards containing those representing the best of the sweet science.

This month's Championship Calendar contains updates on all the title fight results from the month of June, a ledger full of all the upcoming bouts featuring the reigning titlists, as well as information to keep you in the loop about what has gone on in any of these pugilists' recent matches in the time prior.

To keep things simple, we will deal with only the four major sanctioning bodies, and only the true belts (none of the International or Continental Americas tripe).

CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR DATES

July 2:
- Zsolt Erdei vs. Mehdi Sahnoune, WBO Light Heavyweight

July 14:
- Kassim Ouma vs. Roman Karmazin, IBF Junior Middleweight

July 16:
- Bernard Hopkins vs. Jermain Taylor, WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF Middleweight
- Fernando Montiel vs. Eric Morel, WBO Super Flyweight
- Oscar Larios vs. Wayne McCullough, WBC Super Bantamweight

July 18:
- Katsushige Kawashima vs. Masamori Tokuyama, WBC Super Flyweight

July 27:
- Vic Darchinyan vs. Luis Maldonado, IBF Flyweight

July 29:
- Israel Vazquez vs. Johnny Tapia, IBF Super Bantamweight

July 30:
- Eric Ortiz vs. Brian Viloria, WBC Junior Flyweight

August 5:
- Ratanachai Sor Vorapin vs. Mauricio Martinez, WBO Bantamweight

August 6:
- Katsunari Takayama vs. Eagle Kyowa, WBC Minimumweight
- Jeff Lacy vs. Robin Reid, IBF Super Middleweight

August 13:
- Hasim Rahman vs. Monte Barrett, interim WBC Heavyweight

August 15:
- Hugo Cazares vs. Alex Sanchez, WBO Junior Flyweight

August 20:
- Roberto Vasquez vs. Jose Antonio Aguirre, WBA Junior Flyweight
- In Jin Chi vs. Rocky Juarez, WBC Featherweight

August 24:
- Muhammad Rachman vs. Omar Soto, IBF Minimumweight

September 3:
- Markus Beyer vs. Omar Sheika, WBC Super Middleweight
- Zab Judah vs. TBA, WBC, WBA and IBF Welterweight

September 4:
- Clinton Woods vs. Julio Gonzalez, IBF Light Heavyweight

September 17:
- Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Robbie Peden, to unify Barrera's WBC and Peden's IBF Super Featherweight belts

September 24:
- Vitali Klitschko vs. winner of 8/13's Hasim Rahman/Monte Barrett interim match, WBC Heavyweight

September 28:
-Lamon Brewster vs. Luan Krasniqi, WBO Heavyweight

October 8:
- Diego Corrales vs. Jose Luis Castillo, WBC and WBO Lightweight

December 5:
- Lorenzo Parra vs. Brahim Asloum, WBA Flyweight

HEAVYWEIGHTS

Vitali Klitschko had been scheduled to defend his WBC championship against Hasim Rahman in April, and then in June, and then in July, only to push it back further thanks to injuries and surgery.  Klitschko will now meet the winner of the upcoming bout for the WBC interim title, which is being contested between Rahman and Monte Barrett.  The date for Vitali's return to the ring will likely be September 24.

Thanks to deft negotiations by promoter Don King to help the Fuzzy One strengthen his grip on the junior middleweight division, Lamon Brewster, the WBO heavyweight titlist, will now be fighting in Germany on September 28 against Luan Krasniqi.  Brewster knocked out Andrew Golota in the first round on May 21.

Chris Byrd, another King heavyweight and the IBF beltholder, refused to go to Germany to fight Wladimir Klitschko.  Byrd hasn't stepped into the ring since last November, when he won a split decision victory over good friend Jameel McCline, and is still yet to have another defense on his schedule.

John Ruiz lost his WBA title to James Toney, only to regain it when Toney tested positive for steroids.  Ruiz is yet to find another willing suitor for twelve rounds of hugging, although it is rumored/joked that he could next face Kevin McBride in an all-Massachusetts showdown.

CRUISERWEIGHTS

O'Neil Bell won a disputed decision over Dale Brown on May 20 to pick up the vacant IBF belt.

Of Jean-Marc Mormeck (WBC and WBA) and Johnny Nelson (WBO), neither pugilist has anything on their horizon at the moment.  Mormeck unified his titles by defeating Wayne Braithwaite in April, and Nelson hasn't defended since winning with a TKO over Rudiger May in September.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS

Zsolt Erdei (WBO) hopes to remain undefeated after he faces Mehdi Sahnoune on July 2.  Erdei split a decision with Hugo Hernan Garay in February.

Clinton Woods (IBF) picked up his title by defeating Rico Hoye in March, and while he had been rumored to be the selected comeback opponent for Roy Jones Jr., Woods shall instead meet Julio Gonzalez on September 4.

Tomasz Adamek thrilled a crowded United Center on May 21 when he beat Paul Briggs for the vacant WBC belt.

WBA champ Fabrice Tiozzo beat down Darius Michalczewski in February, the latter of which has since re-retired.

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Jeff Lacy (IBF) is slated to meet Robin Reid on August 6, hoping to successfully follow his March victory over Rubin Williams.

The WBC's Markus Beyer is scheduled to face Omar Sheika on September 3 in Germany.  Beyer won a majority decision over Danny Green in March.

Joe Calzaghe (WBO) continued his sixteen-fight reign with a TKO of Mario Veit on May 7.

Mikkel Kessler victoriously defended his WBA belt by outpointing Anthony Mundine on June 8.

MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Bernard Hopkins, who holds all four titles, will meet young gun Jermain Taylor on July 16 in Las Vegas.  The Philadelphian champion won a decision over Howard Eastman in February.

JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHTS

The look of the 154-lb weight class has changed a good bit ever since Winky Wright decided to leave his titles behind and venture into middleweight, where he met and shut out Felix Trinidad.  Since then, Winky's WBC and WBA belts were handed down to Javier Castillejo and Alejandro Garcia, respectively.  In a dramatic series of press releases and wrangling with the sanctioning bodies, Castillejo was stripped of the green belt due to his choosing to fight Fernando Vargas as opposed to mandatory Ricardo Mayorga.  Never mind that neither Vargas nor Mayorga had any right to be the mandatory, but anyway…

The WBC belt is now vacant, and will either be handed to Ricardo Mayorga or Michele Piccirillo.  This bout was to have been a part of Don King's August 13 pay-per-view, but now word has it that this fight could take place on September 3, although that is yet to be set in stone whatsoever.  Mayorga's last appearance was his October knockout loss to Tito Trinidad, while Piccirillo won a majority decision in a six-rounder (!) last November.

As for Garcia, he too was to be on the 8/13 Don King show with a defense of his WBA interim title against Luca Messi, but neither that bout nor Mayorga/Piccirillo is listed for that date on the schedule of Showtime, the network sponsoring the broadcast.  Garcia beat Rhoshii Wells via ninth round TKO in May.

The one non-Don titlist in this division, Kassim Ouma (IBF), has fallen victim to my getting out of chronological order, but he hopes to not be the victim when he headlines an HBO Latino card on July 14.  Standing across the ring from him will be Roman Karmazin, Ouma's first opponent since he outworked Kofi Jantuah in January.

The negotiations alluded to in the heavyweight listing of Lamon Brewster had to do with Daniel Santos, who was to have faced a mandatory challenger for his WBO title.  King was able to get the mandatory to step aside in exchange for Brewster facing Krasniqi in Germany, all so that Santos can eventually face Cory Spinks.  Santos, who in this past year signed with King, last appeared in a September technical decision win over Antonio Margarito.

WELTERWEIGHTS

Zab Judah, who holds three of the four belts (WBC, WBA and IBF), is tentatively scheduled to face an unknown opponent on September 3, a date that could change.  Judah whooped Cosme Rivera in May, and has recently called out new WBC junior welterweight titlist Floyd Mayweather Jr.

WBO champion Antonio Margarito had an impress return to 147 on April 23, dispatching Kermit Cintron within five rounds.

JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHTS

Three of the four titles changed hands in June, when everyone with a belt in this division was active.

June 4 saw Ricky Hatton, the new IBF champion, bully and foul Kostya Tszyu until the former 140-lb king decided to remain on his stool after the eleventh round ended.

One week later on June 11, Miguel Cotto (WBO) faced his former Olympic conqueror, Muhammed Abdullaev, whose face he lumped and eye he closed until Abdullaev wisely decided he could go no further during round nine.

Wrapping up the month for these guys was the June 25 pay-per-view, which had Carlos Maussa's surprising knockout of now-former WBA beltholder Vivian Harris, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s impressive wipeout of now-former WBC titlist Arturo Gatti.

LIGHTWEIGHTS

Juan Diaz (WBA) received a cut while training to face Ebo Elder for the April 23 ESPN PPV and had to pull out.  He will make his return with a non-title fight against Arthur Cruz on July 16.  Diaz last appeared in January with a TKO of Billy Irwin.

Negotiations are still under way, but it appears that the two principals of the best fight so far this year will get it on again on October 8.  Diego Corrales unified his WBO belt with Jose Luis Castillo's WBC greenie when he came back from two knockdowns in round ten to force a stoppage.

Levander Johnson gained the vacant IBF title with his June knockout of Stefano Zoff, and is currently rumored to be the desired target for Erik Morales should El Terrible step up another weight class to try for another title.

SUPER FEATHERWEIGHTS

Robbie Peden (IBF) and Marco Antonio Barrera (WBC) are currently set to meet on a pay-per-view on September 17.  Peden picked up the formerly vacant belt when he knocked out Nate Campbell in February, while Barrera last retained his strap with an easy win over Mzonke Fana in April.

Nothing is on the ledger yet for the WBA's Vicente Mosquera or the WBO's Jorge Rodrigo Barrios, both of whom just won their titles in April, with Mosquera defeating Yodsanan Sor Nanthachai and Barrios knocking out Mike Anchondo.

FEATHERWEIGHTS

In Jin Chi (WBC) shall face Rocky Juarez on August 20.  Chi made his last defense in January against Tommy Browne.

Scott Harrison retained his WBO title in June by knockout out Michael Brodie with a body shot.

Juan Manuel Marquez, the WBA and IBF titlist, beat Victor Polo by unanimous decision in May, and it is thought that he shall next face Phafrakorb Rakkietgym for a mandatory defense.

SUPER BANTAMWEIGHTS

Oscar Larios (WBC) will defend his belt against Wayne McCullough for the second time in a row on the July 16 undercard of Hopkins/Taylor, about five months after Larios won their first entertaining scrap by unanimous decision.

Thirteen days later on July 29, Israel Vazquez (IBF) will face Johnny Tapia, a man who must drink the same water as other death dodgers Keith Richards and Ozzy Osbourne.  Vasquez survived twelve difficult rounds with Armando Guerrero on May 31, receiving a decision victory.

Mahyar Monshipour retained his WBA belt in June by knocking out Julio Zarate, and Joan Guzman kept his WBO title by outpointing Fernando Beltran Jr. in April.

BANTAMWEIGHTS

Ratanachai Sor Vorapin (WBO) shall meet Mauricio Martinez in the squared circle on August 5, his first title defense after seven non-title bouts.  Sor Vorapin last put his title on the line in April 2004, when he beat Cruz Carbajal.

Of the other three beltholders, the most recent action involved IBF champ Rafael Marquez, who won a gritty unanimous twelve round decision over Ricardo Vargas on May 28.  Wladimir Sidorenko (WBA) outpointed Julio Zarate in February, and Hozumi Hasegawa picked up the WBC belt with an April win over Veeraphol Sahaprom.

SUPER FLYWEIGHTS

WBO titlist Fernando Montiel defends against Eric Morel on July 16, about three months after he knocked out Ivan Hernandez to regain the belt that he had last held in 2003.

Just two days later on July 18, Katsushige Kawashima (WBC) meets Masamori Tokuyama in Japan, his first appearance since a controversial split decision in January over Jose Navarro.

Martin Castillo (WBA) won a unanimous decision against Hideyasu Ishihara on June 26.

Luis Alberto Perez (IBF) beat Luis Bolano by sixth-round TKO on April 30.

FLYWEIGHTS

July 27 will have the IBF's Vic Darchinyan appearing in Australia opposite the unbeaten Luis Maldonado.  Darchinyan last retained in March by beating Mzukisi Sikali.

Scheduled far, far in advance is the December 5 bout pitting WBA beltholder Lorenzo Parra against Brahim Asloum, eleven months after Parra's January decision victory over Trash Nakanuma.

Pongsaklek Wonjongkam was to have defended his WBC title against Jorge Arce on July 30, but it now appears that Wonjongkam has decided that he does not want to fight on that night's Showtime card.  The repercussions of this decision are yet to be revealed, although it appears that Arce and his new opponent, Angel Priolo, may be battling for an interim title from the same sanctioning body.

Omar Navaez, who has not actually defended his WBO title since knocking out Reginaldo Martins in March 2004, knocked out Wellington Vicente and his spectacular 15-8 record in April.  It was Navaez's third non-title bout in a row.

JUNIOR FLYWEIGHTS

WBC king Eric Ortiz has a July 30 date with Brian Viloria, his first defense since picking up the vacant belt in March with a seventh round TKO of Jose Antonio Aguirre.

Hugo Cazares (WBO) gained his title with a technical decision over Nelson Dieppa, and will take it into the ring as a champion for the first time on August 15, when he meets Alex Sanchez.

Continuing the theme, Roberto Vasquez knocked out Beibis Mendoza in April for the vacant WBA belt, and shall defend against the aforementioned Aguirre on August 20 in Panama.

Will Grigsby outpointed Victor Burgos in May to earn the IBF championship that he had last called his own back in 1999.

MINIMUMWEIGHTS

On August 6, Katsunari Takayama will be in Tokyo to attempt to keep his WBC belt from Eagle Kyowa.  Takayama won the belt in April with a unanimous decision over Isaac Bustos.

Muhammad Rachman (IBF) faces Omar Soto on August 24.  In April, Rachman retained his title with a technical draw after a clash of heads stopped his fight with Fahlan Sakkreerin.

Yutaka Niida (WBA) was also active in April, his last defense being a decision over Jae Won Kim.

Ivan Calderon was in the ring recently, with a June victory over Gerardo Verde providing Calderon with his seventh defense of his WBO belt.