16.07.05 – Per-Åke Persson: Universum promotes, as previously reported, at the Color Line Arena in Hamburg September 28, which is indeed a step away from the traditional Saturday night shows. September 28 should of course have rang a bell in my head but I asked Universum´s press department anyway.. September 28, 2005, would have marked the 100th birthday of former heavyweight champion of the World, Max Schmeling, had been alive now and Universum wants to celebrate that. The champ passed away earlier this year. As headliner for the September 28 bill Universum is working on getting heavyweight Luan Krasniqi a shot at WBO ruler Lamont Brewster.
The then 55 – going on 56 – year old Torsten Ahlin became last year the oldest known Swede to fight professionally. Ahlin stepped in against an experienced Estonian pro and says he did allright until pushed down in the second, suffered a serious knee injury and was forced to retire. -I´m not out to become a world champ or anything like that, says Torsten, I did it for fun and I to give my son an experience. Who licensed me is of no importance, I got the connections, know people, have fought as a pro before in South America and the States but not officially. Torsten was in younger days a good, tough amateur fighter and have continued in boxing as trainer of among others the now retired jr middle pro Milan Mirkovic. His older brother Roland was also a fine amateur who fought once officially as a pro but according to Torsten Ahlin Roland had more profights as well. -I was in great shape for my fight against Vorontchuk, adds Torsten, I trained hard, lived cleanly and got my weight down to about 68,5 kg / 151 lbs. Ahlin denies knowledge of another Swede who´s said to have been with him in Estonia. And no, you won´t find any Torsten Ahlin at boxrec.com
Mourad Louati, trainer and according to himself co-manager of Dutch heavy Richel Hersisia, called to complain of my coverage of the split between him and Olaf Schroeder. Louati says that when Hersisia got the June fight in Spain (a tko win over winless Slovakian Vlado Szabo) he was promised a plane ticket the day after Hersisia had flown to Madrid only to be told he wouldn´t get any ticket at all the day after. Louati have turned the matter over to a lawyer and want damages.
German lightheavy Kai Kurzawa is off tonight´s show in Nuremberg due to a knee injury