By Marco Bratusch

European welterweight titlist, hard-puncher Sam Eggington (21-3, 13 KOs) will defend his continental belt for the first time against official challenger Mohamed Mimoune (18-2, 2 KOs), a French southpaw former European Union (EU) titlist. The 23-year-old Eggington won the title last May stopping Spaniard Ceferino Rodriguez in round ten. Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing will very likely include the fight on the October 7th bill in Manchester, UK, topped by former world champions collision between Anthony Crolla and Ricky Burns, with the Scott to drop to his previous weight class, the lightweight division, for this clash.

Undefeated Italian cruiserweight prospect Fabio Turchi (12-0, 9 KOs), who recently signed a co-promotion deal with Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Entertainment boxing promotion in order to fight in the United States, might nevertheless face European Union champion Juho Haapoja (28-7-2, 16 KOs), being his mandatory. Turchi’s promoter Mario Loreni came to terms with the Finnish part to stage such bout in Italy on next December. In the meantime, Haapoja will take on Romanian Alexandru Jur (15-1, 6 KOs) as a voluntary defense of his belt on October 21st in Kauhava, Finland.

In other news, an IBF doubleheader is expected to take place on Sept 30 at Sportcomplex in Kapellekensbaan, Belgium, to be screened on Eleven Sport TV. Junior middleweights Howard Cospolite (15-6-2, 6 KOs) and Armenian-born Sasha Nengoyan (40-2-1, 25 KOs) will battle for the vacant Inter-Continental belt, while experienced Maurizio Lovaglio (21-13, 13 KOs) and 24-year-old Billal Laggoune (21-1-2, 11 KOs) are set to compete for the same vacant belt in the cruiserweight division.