By Per Ake Persson
The Monte Carlo Boxing Masters II goes ahead at the Salle de Etoile in Monte Carlo on March 18. It´s a joint venture between World Sporting Promotions and Fight Academy. Headlining is Israeli heavyweight Roman Greenberg taking on Russian Alex Vassilyev in a IBO I/C title fight. Jr middleweight Matthew Hatton squares off against Belorussian Alexander Abramenko in the chief support. Another Belorussian on the bill is rising jr lightweight Sergei Gulyakevich, who fights Frenchman Frederic Bonifai.
German/Turkisk middleweight Mahir Oral a/k/a Lion Mahir faces a tough test in Arsen Khachatrian on March 11 in Hamburg on the undercard to Masoe vs Sturm.
Domenico Spada and Luciano Lombardi clash for the vacant Italian 160 lb title on March 31 in Rome.
Swedish heavyweight Attila Levin, who used to fight out of Pembroke Pines, Florida, is since some time back home in Stockholm. "I had simply lost desire for boxing even before the Jeremy Williams fight", says the 29-year old, who lost to Nikolay Valuev last time out. "I don´t rule out a return to boxing but not as it feels now."
However, Levin can fancy going back to Florida as we discussed a dear subject to all Swedes: the weather. "I just can´t handle this cold like I used to. I´m seriously thinking about returning to Florida, but it´s not just the weather, it´s the lifestyle as a whole I miss."
Boxteam-Vienna in Austria will stage a "Laszlo Papp Memorial" on March 25 in Vienna. It´s a mixed martial arts / professional boxing event sanctioned by the EBF with Hungarian jr. middleweight Vilmos Balog on top.
Benjamin Kalinovic, from Sweden but based in Florida, stopped Larry Cunningham in two rounds on Friday night in Oklahoma City, in a fight made at welterweight but Cunningham came in 10 lbs over the contracted weight.
Hungarian Zoltan Kallai got a difficult opponent for a late sub in Ivica Cukusic, on Friday night in Budapest. He still came through to win the UBC /IC supermiddleweight title.
Giorgio Marinelli and Ceri Hall clash for the vacant EU jr. welterweight title on March 25 in Rome.
