By Per Ake Persson
Hungarian Zsolt Erdei hasaccording to websites in Hungary and Poland relinquished the WBC cruiserweight title. Erdei, the former WBO light heavyweight champ, gave up that title to go for the WBC cruiser crown then held by Giacobbe Fragomeni but weighed in just a little over the limit to light heavy and is too small to have a future at 200 lbs. There are no official confirmation from Universum yet. Mandatory challenger for Erdei is Pole Krzysztof Wlodarczyk.
AMI Production plan to do Jerome Arnould vs Ian Napa for the vacant EBU bantam title March 6 in France. Meanwhile Napa is all set to defend the British title January 28 in London. Can he do both fights five weeks apart?
Juergen Braehmer and his defense team may appeal the 16 month sentence for assault he got from a German court Tuesday. Braehmer is said to have made the victory sign when the verdict was announced as the prosecutor had asked for 18 monts.
Belgian cruiser Geoffrey Batello will now face Czech Lubos Suda February 20 in Liege for the vacant EU title. Batello first had Frenchman Rachid El Hadak as opponent.
EBU featherweight champ Oleg Yefimovich defends the title against Andrey Isaev February 20 in Donetsk with Union Boxing Promotion staging the fight. EE-EU rulers Stanislav Merdov and Vladimir Kravets will defend their respective titles at feather and jr welter.
French light heavyweight Nadjib Mohammedi faces German Denis Simcic for the vacant EU title February 26 in Marseille.
Former EBU champ and WBA challenger Khoren Gevor have joined the list of Universum fighters who claims free agent status from their contracts. If he is? Well, check the status of the other Universum fighters who wants out. No-one have at this stage fights set with another promoter.
The next Universum show won´t take place until April as network partner ZDF is occupied with the World championships in handball (not the squashlike kind) and the Winter Olympics.
Belgian super middleweight Seladijn Koxha, fresh off several weeks of sparring with Mads Larsen in Denmark, face unbeaten Gevork Khatchikian January 23 in Maastricht., the Netherlands. Koxha is said to have done well against the rejuvenated Larsen, who face Brian Magee for the vacant EBU title January 30 in Aarhus.
The impossible comeback is on - or is it not? Former WBA super middleweight champ Christophe Tiozzo, age 46, returns according to an announcement from promoter Momo Dridi on February 7 in Nice. The comeback is at cruiser with Croatian Josip Jalusic as opponent. However, French paper l´Equipe quotes Humbert Frugoni, President of the French Federation, who says that Tiozzo will never be allowed to fight in France in a real professional boxing fight. A so called "jubilee fight" that 59-year former EBU heavy champ Jean Chanet recently participated in may be allowed though. Promoter Dridi hasnot yet decided if he is go through with the promotion.