By Per Ake Persson
The once powerful Universum continues to struggle but have, according to Bild, plans to stage shows in Hamburg or Stuttgart on January 21 and March 24 in Hamburg. The team is still strong and middleweight Sebastian Zbik is the mandatory challenger for EBU middleweight king Grzegorz Proksa while junior lightweight Vitali Tajbert is in the same position for Ermanno Fegatilli. In both cases purse bids will be held next week.
Italian lightweight Carel Sandon, newphew of former middleweight champ Sumbu Kalambay, is reported to be in a coma after an attempt to commit suicide. Sandon lost to Samir Ziani in July in a big upset but apparently he was already tsuffering from depression back then.
German promoter, manager, trainer and ex-fighter Robert Rolle is looking to make a comeback on January 27 in Berlin. Rolle, sidelined with eye problems for some time, is also the matchmaker for the show that also features heavyweight Erkan Teper.
Professional boxing was prohibited in Norway in 1980 but now it might make a comeback of some sort. There will be a hearing in the Norwegian Parliament in January and with the AIBA moving towards pro boxing with their WBS series it´s unlikely that Norway will go against what in fact is an Olympic sport. Add to that Cecilia Braekhus´ success as a triple champ fighting in Denmark, Finland and Germany for Sauerland. However, some experts believe the result will be similar to Sweden: where professional boxing is allowed but with special rules that makes it toothless and without public appeal.
Lightweight Sam Rukundo, 15-4-1, is now back in Uppsala, Sweden, after a spell as coach for the national team in Uganda. Sam represented Uganda in the 2004 Olympics but has been based in Sweden and London during his procareer. After four straight tough losses on the road Sam decided to take a break and got a position as coach for the Ugandan national team. He´s now looking to resume his career as a fighter with the position as coach still open.
Former WBO middleweight champ Armand Krajnc is now a trainer and also looking to become a promoter. Armand have set March 24 as a working date for his first show with Ystad in the very south of Sweden as the site. Krajnc trains Anna Donatella Hultin and newcomer Rastgar Ismaeeli and Hultin will headline the show.
Norwegian featherweight Andreas Evensen headlines P 3 Boxing´s final show of the year on December 17 in Espoo, Finland. The show is staged at P 3 Boxing´s new gym where former EBU middleweight champ Amin Asikainen is headcoach. Evensen takes on Spaniard Sergio Prado.
