Huck Service GmBH won today´s purse bids for the fight for the vacant EBU heavyweight title between Marco Huck and Joe Joyce with a bid for 480,000 Euro. Queensberry Promotions bid 358,000 Euro.

When and where is to be announced within the next few weeks but it´s likely to go ahead at before the end of the year in Germany.

Former WBO cruiserweight king Huck (41-5-1) has fought just twice since losing to Oleksandr Usyk in 2017.

There was a time when it was very difficult if not impossible for a foreign boxer to win in Italy but with the Matchroom Italy, OPI since 82 and DAZN that has changed.

British fighters are ahead 6-3 in matchups against Italians and extra noteworthy are Tommy McCarthy´s upset win over Fabio Turchi, Sam Eggington´s KO win over Orlando Fiordiglio and Luther Clay beating Dario Morello. It remains to be seen if the home fighters can make it back but Christian Cherchi, matchmaker for OPI since 82, is optimistic. - Competitive matches means you have to accept losses, comments Cherchi.

Other experts are not so positive and feel years of soft matches have taking the edge off the local heroes. On October 25 in Milan the next show goes ahead with EBU lightweight champ Francesco Patera, a Belgian of Italian descent, defends the title against former amateur star Domenico Valentino. In the chief support welterweight Maxim Prodan, an Ukrainan based in Italia, is in against Welshman Tony Dixon.

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Former WBA and WBO light heavy champ Juergen Braehmer, age 40 and 51-3,  finally has a co-challenger for the vacant EBU title and it is fellow Germany Emre Cukur (14-0) who has accepted the challenge. The EBU have set October 31 as deadline for purse bids or agreements. Braehmer and his JB Sportspromotion won purse bids for a fight against then champ Robin Krasniqi but relinquished the title for a rematch against Stefan Haertel (date and site to be announced).

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Just like the EBU the IBO also have rules against mixing it up. The EBU refuse to have its belt mixed with a world title and the IBO refuse to have their title entangled with a regional crown. This spells problems for the upcoming SES promoted clash between IBO king Sven Fornling and EBU ruler Dominic Boesel November 16 in Halle an der Saale. - 'We are working on it,' says Christof Hawerkamp, press pokesman for SES but it appears that someone´s title must be relinquished.

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Team Sauerland are closing down its gym in Berlin and veteran coach Ulli Wegner will be laid off during the fall. The lack of a major TV deal has hurt Team Sauerland and according to the new working conditions laid out to the fighters, still under contract, the training facilities and coaches must be financed by the fighter himself.

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Hungarian super welter Balazs Backsai (12-0) won a one-sided unanimous decision over Russian Aleksei Evchenko (18-13-1) in a non-title ten-rounder in the headliner of Felix-Promotion´s show in Salgotarjan Saturday night (Oct 12).. Evchenko, who was a sub for Frenchman Howard Cospolite, lost on scores of 99-91 twice and 100-90. In the chief support  light heavy Mate Kis (16-0-2) got all he could handle from tough Czech journeyman Karel Horejsek (14-11-3) but won a unanimous decision after eight. Horejsek was down in the sixth but got up and kept coming.