By Per Ake Persson

The battle over the fight between Mikkel Kessler and Dmitri Sartison, for vacant WBA super middleweight, scheduled for June 21 continues. Sauerland Event have protested the fight saying that their man, Danilo Haussler, ranked # 3 while Sartison is # 4, has been sidestepped.

Team Palle have issued a press release in the matter and Mogens Palle don´t pull any punches. Fact is, he goes all out saying that Haussler is shot fighter totally undeserving of the rating he does have with the WBA. Palle points out that the German is only # 11 with the EBU while Sartison is # 6. Haussler´s indeed bad effort on the undercard to Kessler vs. Beyer 2006 is also highlighted. There is one opening though: that Sauerland put together an eliminator between Haussler and Mads Larsen with the winner facing the winner of Kessler vs Sartison. Larsen, then with Palle, clearly beat the German in Germany back in 2004.
 
Croatian veteran Vedran Akrap has spent most of his career as an opponent to the bigger names mainly in Germany fighting above his natural weight. Akrap is now self managed, has landed a TV deal and is the EE-EU middle champ. Thursday night in Zagreb, he retained the title stopping Russian Aleksey Chirkov in five due to a cut eye.
 
Belgian bantamweight Carmelo Ballone retained the title with a tenth round TKO over tricky Belorus, based in Spain, Valery Yanchy on Friday night in La Louviere. Ballone was ahead on points when Yanchy was stopped and didn´t come out for the tenth due to a bad swelling and cut.
 
Odlanier Solis vs. Fransois Botha hasbeen moved from Bilbao, Spain, May 30 to the US and will go ahead on June 27 in Miami, Florida. According to a press release from Arena Box Promotion, the reason is the US demand to check out the Cuban heavyweight. Solis vs. Botha thus goes ahead along with Yuriorkis Gamboa vs Jose "Cheo" Rojas. As "compensation" to the Bilbao show, Arena moves in WBC Int´l cruiser champ Herbie Hide, who will defend the title against Ehinomen Ehikhamenor from Benin but fighting out of New York. In the co-headliner unbeaten heavy Konstantin Airich square off against Brit Danny Williams. Airich comes in with 40 rounds of sparring against WBC # 2 Vladimir Virchis, who is still waiting for a confirmed date for his eliminator against Juan Carlos Gomez, although September 27 is likely.
 
WBC Youth champ Zapir Gereev is currently training at Gleason´s in New York and will make his US debut this fall. Gereev is managed by Mario Pokowietz and has fought all his pro-fights in Germany on shows put on by promoters licensed by the German Boxing Association. Gereev is signed to Don King Promotions but has yet to appear on any DKP show.
 
Finnish Steel Ring tried an interesting experiment on their show Saturday night in Oulu as they transmitted it over internet. Topping the bill was a clash for the vacant BBU welter title between Jarno Ruotsalainen and Marat Khuzeeev. Ruotsalainen, 7-0, won a close but unanimous decison over Khuzeev, 16-3-1.
 
Norwegian super bantamweight Reidar Walstad returned to action Thursday night in St Petersburg and beat Ukrainian Nikita Lukin over six on a split decision. Lukin was down in the fourth. In the main event Russian heavyweight Dennis Bakhtov stopped Finn Juha Haapoja in the tenth of a PABA title fight.
 
Swedish-Finnish heavyweight prospect Robert Helenius faces Dane Ingvardt Jorgensen June 7 in Orebro, Sweden. Headlining are local man (and co-promoter) Kamran Kabinejad and Tonton Semakala. Both take on Latvian opponents.
 
German heavyweight Steffen Kretschmann is back in training after a hand injury and is expected to be back on the undercard to Sam vs. Skelton July 4 in Istanbul.
 
Juan Garcia a/k/a "Kid Puerto Cruz" defends the Spanish featherweight title on June 17 in Las Palmas against Ivan Ruiz Morote.