Former EBU jr middle champ Yolande Leveque of St Quentin, France, have passed away at the age of 74. Leveque was a national champ as an amateur and participated in the 1960 Olympics in Rome. He then turned pro and lost to an aging Sugar Ray Robinson in 1964 and before that to Bruno Visin in a shot at the EBU title. On February 11, 1966, in Stockholm, Sweden, he participated in a classic when he beat reigning EBU king Bo Hogberg on points after fifteen rounds with the Swede fighting with a broken jaw constantly attacking with the shrewd Leveque waiting and countering with sharp right handers flooring Hogberg several times during the fight that by modern standars should have stopped quite early but went the the full distance. Hogberg became a legend in his own time while Leveque lost the title to Italian all-time great Sandro Mazzinghi just four months later. Yolande retired in 1970 and was in tough in his last years as a pro taking on the likes of Tom Bogs, Juan Carlo Duran and Jo Gonzales. He later went into the clothes industry and led a quiet life.
Former EBU featherweight champ Sofiane Takoucht have tested positive to an illegal substance after his losing fight to Alexander Miskirtchian September 30 in Charleville- Mezieres. Takoucht lost on a split decision after 12 exellent rounds of boxing and may now face a lengthy suspension.
Czech jr middle Lukas Konecny have not surprisingly relinquished the EBU title to concentrate on the upcoming fight for the WBO title against Zaurbek Baysangurov. Sergey Rabchenko was already mandatory challenger and he´s likely to get Frenchman Cedric Vitu as co-challenger.
PABA heavy champ Jovo Pudar, back in Serbia after previously fighting primarly in the US, defends the title December 9 in Belgrade against Argentinian Omar Basile. Pudar have a solid backing at home and Red Guinness Promotions are looking for bigger titles for Pudar. How a Serbian can fight an Argentinian for the Pacific-Asia title is however not known.
Sauerland have signed up Danish middleweight Torben Keller and at politiken.dk Kalle Sauerland reveals that comebacking supermiddle Mads Larsen have an offer to fight Bernard Hopkins in the US. Sauerland however states that Mads, out of the ring since losing to Brian Magee early 2010, needs a few tuneups before being ready for Hopkins. No dates have been announced though.
03.11 Euro news
