By Per Ake Persson
EBU super middleweight champ Mger Mkrtchyan defends against Devi Gogiya on September 28 in Moscow. Spaniard Gabriel Campillo was also mentioned as an opponent for Mkrtchyan, but Russian TV insisted on making it an all Russian matchup - and a pretty hot one at that. Mkrtchyan can punch, while Gogiya is a solid boxer.
Ex-WBO champ Giovanni Parisi is off OPI 2000´s big July 27 show due to the injuries suffered when he was attacked by a dog while doing roadwork. Parisi was to have fought EBU welter champ Frederik Klose. The show goes ahead with Manny Siaca vs Silvio Branco on top for the WBA interim 175 lb title, Michele Piccirillo vs Luca Messi for the EBU jr. middleweight belt and Ivan Pozo vs Andrea Sarritzu for the EBU 112 lb crown. Ex-WBC super middleweight ruler Cristian Sanavia, cruiser Giuseppe Fragomeni and jr. welterweight Giusppe Lauri are all featured on the undercard. Lauri was to have fought Jason Cook this coming weekend for the EBU 140 lb title, but Cook pulled out due to illness.
OPI 2000 also promotes in Civitavecchia on August 1 with cruiserweight Pietro Aurino on top of a bill that also feature middleweight Domenico Spada.
EBU bantamweight champ Simone Maludrottu defends against Spain´s Karim Quibir on August 5 on the island of Sardinia.
