WBO I/C heavy champ Aleksander Dimitrenko defends against German veteran Timo Hoffmann November 17 on a Universum Box Promotion at the Boerdeland Arena in Magdeburg. WIBF feather queen Ina Menzer co-headlines.

Cuban stars Yuriorkis Gamboa, based in Germany with Arena, and Yan Barthelemy, based in Florida but also with Arena, will make their US debuts October 30 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, on the undercard to a show headlined by Edison Miranda.

OPI 2000 has postponed Andrea Sarritzu´s defence of the EBU flyweight title that was set for October 12 against Spaniard Rafael Lozano. A new date will be announced within shortly.

Zauerbek Baysangurov defends the EBU 154 lb title November 17 in Kiev against Roman Dzuman, who comes off a controversial draw against Ivan Gontsa for the EE-EU belt.

Finnish Steel Ring promotes in Yliharma November 2 with heavyweight Juha Haapoja on top of a pro/am bill. Haapoja is then expected to fight Sami Elovaara in December with the national title at stake.

EBU welter king Jackson Osei Bonsu is said to be in great shape for his upcoming defence against Frenchman Nordine Mouchi October 27 in Mazures, France. Sparring is as always difficult to find for the very hard punching Belgian.

Looks like Italian veteran Michele Piccirillo will get a crack at WBC jr middle champ Vernon Forrest December 1 in the US.

Danish media reports that WBA and WBC super middle champ Mikkel Kessler is sidelined with a cold and so far hasn't sparred with Brian Magee, who arrived in Copenhagen this past weekend. Kessler is expected to be back in full training in a few days though and the
fight against Joe Calzaghe November 3 shouldn't be affected. Magee is in Denmark until October 14.

The Swedish Boxing Federation has received a general permission from the Martial Arts Delegation to give permission to promoters to stage shows. Previously a promoter applied to the Federation, got permission but then the promoter had to apply to MAD as well. The rules however are unchanged: fights can last a maximum of 12 minutes and ten ounce gloves are to be used in all weight divisions. The general permission lasts through December of 2008. This means less paperwork for all involved but whether professional boxing can endure at least another year with the current rules and survive remains an open question.

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