It's not often Jelena Janicijevic fights professionally but when she does it she does it well.
The now 40-year-old Serbian will return to the ring when he faces Flora Pili, 11-0 (2 KOs) for the vacant IBO 140lbs title on December 5 in the latter’s hometown of Saint-Avold, France.
It’s a full circle moment for Janicijevic, 6-1-1 (2 KOs), whose first three pro bouts took place in France beginning with her 2018 debut. She began to make some noise when she knocked out Swedish prospect Joanna Ekedahl (then 8-0) in Denmark in 2019.
In 2020 and 2021, she fought for the EBU title and went 1-0-1 against Pole Aleksandra Sidorenko in Poland. A return to the amateur scene followed before Janicijevic won the WBO Euro belt in her 2023 return versus Sarah Wiedmann in Serbia.
Another break followed with only one fight in 2024 and again this year.
Pili has previously held the French, EBU and WBO International titles but has probably never faced anyone like Janicijevic.
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Newly crowned EBU Silver heavyweight champ Kem Ljungquist (21-1) now has French title holder Mattar Garcia (9-0) as a mandatory challenger.
Ljungquist, who also holds the WBA Baltic title, is ranked number nine by the WBA and eyes bigger paydays. Therefore, it’s doubtful he goes through with a defence of the Silver title.
Garcia won the national title earlier this year and has defended it twice.
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International Entertainment Original APS - headed by Bettina Palle - won purse bids today in Rome for EBU Silver cruiser champ Seydi Coupe's mandatory defence against Dane Ditlev Rossing (19-1). Date and site is to be announced.
Coupe (12-0) won the Silver title earlier this year by defeating compatriot Thomas Faure and won the vacant French title in his fight before that so he is on a good run.
Rossing was on his way to bigger things a few years back but life outside of the ring got in the way but he is 4-0 since the loss to Victor Trush back in 2023.
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This past Saturday - November 22 - Chelms, Poland, a fight of the year candidate took place between cruiserweights Michal Soczynski (11-1) from Poland, and Ukrainian Ramazan Muslimov (9-0).
Soczynski was knocked down twice in the first round but floored Muslimov in the second - only to be floored again. Muslimov then gradually took over the fight wearing his opponent down in a slugfest and decked him in the sixth.
In the fatal seventh Soczynski was down again, got up and was allowed to continue but was knocked out by a right hand and it was lights out. There was no count and Soczynski couldn't be revived and finally left the ring on a stretcher and was taken to the hospital where he was placed in an induced coma as the doctors feared a bleeding in the brain.
But luckily Soczynski was taken out of the coma Monday (Nov 24) and is recovering well, reports bokser.org.
The Polish Boxing Union has suspended Soczynski indefinitely.
