By Alexey Sukachev
On July 7, Victor Petrovich Ageev, the president of the Professional Boxing Federation of Russia, celebrated his 69th birthday. Ageev has never competed in the pro ranks but he is still remembered as one of the biggest stars in a history of amateur boxing. He was a two-time (1965 and 1967) European and a four-time (1963, 1965, 1966 and 1967) Soviet amateur champion and he had never lost a single international contest throughout his career, which unfortunately was cut short in 1968 due to some artificial and hardly fair legal issues, proceeded by the Soviet government as a part of the company against so-called “star fever”.
Ageev skills were praised by a number of future pro stars including Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard; he was also awarded with the Order of Honor by Russian president Vladimir Putin in 2002. Congratulations from BoxingScene!
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Well-known Uzbek heavyweight Timur Ibragimov (28-2-1, 15 KOs) will continue his comeback to the top of the ranks on Aug. 24 at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Ibragimov, managed by Yuri Fedorov, will fight undefeated 2000 Indian Olympian Gurcharan Singh (20-0, 11 KOs) for a vacant WBO I/C title. Ibragimov, who is now ranked #13 by the WBA, defeated aging ex-champion Oliver McCall in his last fight. 32-year old Singh has fought just thrice in last six years.
The fight will headline another series of the Heavyweight Factory, promoted by Henry Rivalta. Several other heavyweights-in-progress will constitute the undercard. Cuban Luis Ortiz is set to fight ever dangerous TBA for a vacant WBC FECARBOX title in the co-feature.
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Looks like Ghana is preparing for one of the biggest boxing cards in recent memory, which is tentatively scheduled for July 31 at Ohene Djan Sports Stadium in Accra. Promoter Mike Tetteh compiled a fine list of international contests for three little-known WPBF (which corresponds to World Professional Boxing Federation) belts in three different weight classes.
Former Commonwealth welterweight champion Joshua Okine (19-4-1, 13 KOs), who had stoppage wins over previously undefeated David Barnes and Fatai Onikeke, is set to face 2000 Sydney welterweight gold medalist and ex-world title challenger Muhammad Abdullaev (20-3, 14 KOs) for the WPBF welterweight title. Local star Alber Mensah (21-3-1, 10 KOs) will test his skills against Russian rough and tough Karen Tevosyan (15-2-3, 9 KOs) for a vacant WPBF light welterweight title. Finally, highly regarded Braimah Kamoko (19-0, 14 KOs) will face the biggest test of his career in former WBO middleweight champion Hector Javier Velazko (37-8-1, 16 KOs) of Argentina for a WPBF light heavyweight title.
Other fights:
1. Emmanuel Tagoe (Ghana, 13-1, 5 KOs) vs. John Gicharu (Kenya, 13-7-1, 6 KOs);
2. Ishmael Tetteh (Ghana, 20-4-2, 10 KOs) vs. Peter Mashamaite (RSA, 17-8-1, 9 KOs);
3. Alfred Tettah (Ghana, 10-4-2, 7 KOs) vs. Daniel Tetteh (Ghana, 2-1, 1 KO).
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Baltic Boxing Union International super middleweight titlist Anton Sjomkin (4-1, 3 KOs) will make an initial defense of his title in a six-rounder against dangerous Latvian journeyman Ruslans Pojonisevs (10-9-1, 8 KOs) on July 22 in Jurmala, Latvia. The fight will be an addition to a local show, co-promoted by Alexey Ivanov and St. Peresburg-based Jab Promotions. WBO #14 Tajik welterweight Sherali “The Lion” Mamadaliev (11-0, 7 KOs) will defend his PABA and WBO Europe titles against Russian Alexey Evchenko (8-7-1, 4 KOs) in a main event.
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Promoters Sergey Seregin and Oleg Bogdanov of Trinity Promotions combined their efforts to stage a tiny nice-looking show at SuperClub in Pskov, Russia, on July 3. In a main event of the evening, a new Russian super bantamweight champion was crowned as local Andrey Bogdanov (12-1-1, 4 KOs) stopped aging veteran Andrey Kostin (20-16, 6 KOs) in the tenth round of a scheduled ten.
Other results:
Gennady Maximov (2-0, 1 KO) UD 6 Ivan Maslov (6-4-1)
Artur Akavov (1-0) UD 4 Serkomil Rakhimov (1-3)
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Local promoter Alexander Petrov will stage tonight a tiny show at Volna in Tolyatti, Russia. Two eight-rounders between prospects and journeymen will take place during the show. Cruiserweight Vitaly Mugunov (11-3, 1 KO) faces 45-year old Teymuraz Kekelidze (16-30-1, 12 KOs), while Russian super middleweight champion Konstantin Piternov (10-0, 3 KOs) clashes against Artem Vyachkin (8-25, 2 KOs).
