EBU flyweight champion Kevin Satchell (14-0) will after all get to defend the title at home in the UK against mandatory challenger Thomas Masson (13-3-1).

 

The story is that Boxing Club Bruaysien won purse bids for the right to stage the fight with a bid for 33 785,00 Euro while Queensferry bid 25 000,00 Euro and had planned to stage the fight July 18 in Bruay la Buissiere. However, due to TV problems the promoter wanted to postpone it until September 12.

 

This was not accepted by the EBU Council and Queensferry was asked to take over the fight providing they would also accept the winning purse bid offer. Queensferry accepted and will announce date and site at the soonest.

 

 

The European Boxing Union held its General Assembly in Paris this past weekend.

 

Champion of the Year (for 2014): middleweight Billy Joe Saunders

Lightweight Emiliano Marsili got a special award for three title defences during 2014.

 

EBU title fight of the year: Billy Joe Saunders vs Chris Eubank

 

Promoter of the Year (EBU): OPI 2000 (the Cherchi Family)

EU: Loreni Boxe (Mario Loreni)

 

Greece is the only new member of the EBU while the Malta Boxing Association (one of the two or three federations active in this tiny country – I’m not the creator of the joke that says they have more federations than fighters there) got provisional status.

 

Both Latvia and Bosnia & Hercegovina was put back to provisional status – both fail to comply with the EBU safety agreement.

 

The case of former WBO supermiddle champ Stas Kashtanov got special attention as he is under a medical suspension in Ukraine but has been allowed to fight in Russia. The lack of respect for suspensions is a hot issue between the EBU members and the many “pirate” (most perfectly legal but non-EBU members) organizations and unified rules is a must but no solution is in sight. Today fighters can spend a weekend getting stopped or knocked out in the same country but on shows sanctioned by different federations and no-one are able to do something about it.

 

Finally Luxembourg was again denied reaffiliation and continues to pay a price for sanctioning the David Haye vs Dereck Chisora fight in 2012.

 

 

Middleweight Sergio “El Nino” Garcia (18-0) is injured and the whole event June 20 in Torrelavega (Spain) is postponed. Garcia was to have headlined in a fight for the WBC Mediterranean title against Victor Lupu (24-2-2).

 

In the chief support Roberto “El Tigre de Benidorm” Santos (23-7-3) was all set for a clash against Karlo Tabaghua (18-8).

 

A new date will be announced soon.

 

 

Italian BBT Productions won purse bids in Rome for EBU-EU lightweight champ Jeam Pierre Bauwens’ defence against Manuel Lancia (12-1-1). BBT bid 15 850,00 Euro while Belgian Liesbet Noens bid 12 505,00 Euro.

 

Date and site is to be announced.

 

The records: 37-1-1 for Bauwens and 12-1-1 for Lancia.

 

 

Paul Malignaggi (33-6) has been approved as challenger for EBU welter champ, the 44-year old Gianluca Branco (49-3-1) under the condition that the fight is announced as on by June and is executed before October. This was decided by the EBU council during the General Assembly this past weekend in Paris.

 

Malignaggi is not rated by the EBU and comes off a loss in his last fight (to IBF champ Shawn Porter.)

 

Official challenger for Branco was Frankie Gavin but he is out after relinquishing his position as of mandatory challenger to fight against Kell Brook for IBF world championship.

 

 

Heavyweights Steffen Kretschmann (19-2, 17) and Michael Wallish (14-0, 9) clash on the undercard to Ruslan Chagaev’s defence of the WBA regular title against Francesco Pianeta July 11 in Magdeburg.

 

It’s an interesting fight between two once touted fighters who for one or reason or another have seen their careers slowly go down. Both men are German Champs with Kretschmann holding the International version and Wallish the standard title. At stake now is the WBO European Crown.

 

 

EC Boxing’s heavyweight Christian Hammer (17-4) will return to action July 25 in Romania. It will be the first fight for Hammer since losing to Tyson Fury in February. Opponent for the July show is to be announced.

 

Hammer had a rough start to his procareer when he lost his prodebut due to a dislocated shoulder and in the last days for Universum he suffered back to back losses to Mariusz Wach and Taras Bidenko but then won eleven straight before losing to Fury.

 

Also on the bill July 25 is featherweight Viorel Simion (18-1).