By Alexey Sukachev
WBA #1 and the officiall World Boxing Association cruiserweight mandatory challenger Valery Brudov (38-2, 27 KOs) was last seen in the ring more than a year from this date outpointing Bulgarian journeyman Yavor Marinchev in a tune-up eight-rounder. Former WBA interim titlist hasn’t been seen in a meaningful fight since summer 2007 and his most important recent activity was helping Denis Lebedev to get in shape for the Alexander Alekseev fight.
“Valery’s rights have been recently violated once again”, says his manager Vladimir Kushnir. “Firat Arslan, who had controversially defeated Valery on a split decision in 2007, fought Steve Herelius for the WBA interim title. We have been pushed aside, haven’t been informed about this fight even despite a fact that Brudov is a mandatory challenger”.
Brudov is seeking for a fight versus WBA “irregular” champion Guillermo Jones, who hasn’t defended his title or seen in the squared circle since his defeat of Arslan in September 2008. The negotiations are ongoing but Team Brudov feels that Jones’ handler Don King isn’t interested in the fight, and there is no financial backup to stage it in Russia.
“Our partner Branco Milenkovic tried to arrange something in South Africa but the timing was all wrong as the date coincided with the World Cup, and neither sponsors nor broadcasters were interested in it. We have filed a complaint about the WBA decision to make Arslan-Herelius fight as an interim title match-up. We are trying to find an exit out of this bad situation. We shall try to convince Team Herelius in fighting Valery as well”.
