By Per Ake Persson

Sauerland Promotion´s super middleweight contender Patrick Nielsen, # 7 in the WBC ratings, is fuming over the fact that # 8 ranked Ronald Gavril was given the opportunity to fight David Benavidez for the vacant WBC title.

Gavril was approved as the opponent after top rated contender Anthony Dirrell withdrew with injury.

WBC wrote in a press release last weekend that Gavril was the highest available contender - but Nielsen was apparently never asked for his availability to participate in the fight. Nielsen is also # 2 in the WBA ratings but has only fought once in over 18 months.

Belgian cruiser Bilal Laggoune, 21-1-2, now has an opponent for the show September 30 in Aalst and it is Italian Maurizio Lovaglio, 21-13. At stake is the vacant IBF Intercontinental title.

....

Danes Detlev Rossing and Pierre Madsen are currently training at the House of Champions Boxing Club in Vero Beach, Florida, with heavyweight Sherman Williams as trainer. Both Rossing, 5-0 and a cruiserweight, and Madsen, 8-0 and a heavyweight, will fight on a show in Little Rock, Arkansas, August 19. Both are a part of the Mogens Palle and Brian Nielsen Danish Fight Night team.

...

Norwegian light heavyweight Tim-Robin Lihaug (16-3) will relocate to Hamburg and be trained by ex-pro and world title challenger Mahir Oral. Oral fought as Lion Mahir and gave then IBF middleweight champ Arthur Abraham all he could handle back in 2009. As for Lihaug he was stopped by Abraham last year and lost to the Czech Tomas Adamek in his last fight but is young and fresh enough to come again. Oral feels Lihaug is good enough to become among the best in the world.

...

EU cruiserweight champ Juho Haapoja will make a voluntary defence of the title on October 21 in Kauhava against Belgian Alexandru Jur. The show is promoted by Haapoja himself who is locally very popular. Should all go well a mandatory defence could be waiting in Italy in December against Fabio Turchi.