Rising Swedish light-heavyweight Erik Skoglund (11-0, 6 KOs) will return to the ring on September 22 at the Nordic Fight Night in Frederikshavn, taking on Argentinian Ricardo Marcello Ramallo (9-3, 8 KOs). The unbeaten 21-year-old comes off a second-round KO win over Fouad Nasri in Herning, which already was his fourth victory in 2012 and his fifth ever since beating Volodymyr Borovskyy despite a broken jaw in May 2011. “Things have been going very well as of late,” Skoglund said. “I have knocked out three of my last four opponents. I can feel that I get better and stronger with every fight I take.”

Skoglund has spent the summer break in his hometown of Nyköping. “After my last fight, I took two weeks off and then started with practice again. Right now I am working out twice a day according to a very strict plan I got from my coach Karsten Rower. It´s a nice change to go back to my old gym and do the running exercises at the beach, even though the training is very tough and I push myself hard. I´ll go back to Berlin on August 19 to do the fine-tuning and the sparring.”

Skoglund needs to be in top shape on September 22. Ricardo Marcello Ramallo has clinched eight of his nine victories by the way of knock-out. “He seems to be a good puncher but I am sure I have a lot more power than he has,” Skoglund said. “We will ultimately find out on September 22.”

Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night at Arena Nord are available at www.arenanord.dk . In one of the main fights of the evening, WBA / WBC / WBO Female Welterweight Champion Cecilia Braekhus will defend her titles against French KO queen Anne Sophie Mathis. Further fights will be announced shortly.

Two titles on the line and a local boy boxing at the o2 World. The o2 World Berlin will turn into a huge boxing venue on August 25 and the audience will not only be looking forward to two international title bouts (Robert Stieglitz vs. Arthur Abraham for the WBO-Belt and Jack Culcay vs. Frederic Serre for the WBA Intercontinental Championship) but also the homecoming of Dustin Dirks. The German is a light heavyweight hopeful and will be facing Sandro Siproshvili (25-13, 12 KOs).

Dirks boasts a perfect record. He stepped into the ring on 24 occasions and was victorious 24 times – 18 of these victories coming prematurely. His latest success came in a fight against former European champion Thomas Ulrich on May 5 in Erfurt. Once again, the Berlin native won by KO and received a lot of praise from the international press. “I wasn’t really aware of that,” said Dirks. “Obviously I am happy to receive recognition for what I do. A lot of people know Thomas Ulrich from his days at the top. Therefore, most people didn’t expect such a one-sided affair.”

But Dirks keeps his feet firm on the ground. “You shouldn’t overestimate that fight. Thomas Ulrich wasn’t able to perform as well as he did during his prime. Nevertheless, it was an important victory for my standing in the game. Ulrich is still a ‘big’ name in the world of boxing.” On August 25 Dirks will step into the ring as the favourite to win. “The record of Siproshvili looks good, but so far, every time he fought against a big name boxer he didn’t perform that well. I saw his last fight against Karo Murat, which he lost. But I know that I shouldn’t underestimate him. He throws a mean hock and seems to be jumping at his opposition. My footwork will have to be spot on. So I know what I have to work on during my preparations.”

The young German is definitely excited about fighting in Berlin. “It is amazing to be fighting in my hometown in front of my home crowd,” said the 23-year-old. “The fact that the fight will take place at the o2 World makes it even more special. I have been to the arena on various occasions, but always as a spectator. This time I will be there to box.” The local lad is currently ranked at number seven in the latest WBO ranking and could improve his position even further, should he continue his impressive run of victories. “That is my goal. But there is still a lot of work to do. I won’t stop until I am right up there with the best and become world champion.”

Undefeated Polish heavyweight contender Mariusz Wach (27-0, 15 KO) confirmed that his promoter Mariusz Kolodziej of Global Boxing Promotions reached agreement with team of heavyweight world champion Wladimir Klitschko (58-3, 51 KO). The bout between two giants will likely take place in Hamburg, Germany in the late fall.

- The talks will continue for the next few weeks, but the decision has been made already – Wach told Interia.pl.

- The fight will most likely take place in late November or early December in Hamburg. I’ve been preparing for Klitschko fight for one year. I have nothing to wait for. I’m a mature fighter and I know what I can. I couldn’t reject such proposal – Wach added.

It’s worth to mention that if the fight between Klitschko and Wach happens, it will mark the first time in his 16 year pro career Wladimir Klitschko will face an opponent taller than himself.