Aussie Buzz: Maniatis ...

by Paul Upham: Tim Bell and Johnny Walker will clash for the Victorian light heavyweight title on Friday night at the Malvern Town Hall in Melbourne on a Peter Maniatis promotion. In the main support, James Grima faces Elisara Sii Uta from New Zealand and is looking for a good win that will allow him to drop down in weight and challenge PABA cruiserweight champion Mohamed Azzaoui."I think James Grima at cruiserweight can be world class, he punches too hard for cruisers" said his promoter Maniatis. "Don't blink when Grima is fighting, it could be all over very quickly."Also on the five-fight card are Shannon McMahon, Shedy Souied and Sean Connell in separate bouts. Maniatis has been a tireless supporter of professional boxing in Victoria and is the man behind the local "KO" Boxing show on Channel 31 every Tuesday at 10pm and Saturday's at noon.***The "Hurricane" Paul Briggs will commence training again in two weeks on the Gold Coast as he plots a course to a rematch with WBC light heavyweight champion Tomasz Adamek. Briggs dropped an exciting close points decision to the Polish fighter in Chicago on May 21. Adamek will make his first title defence against Thomas Ulrich on August 13 in Chicago. There is a chance WBC No.2 Briggs may appear on the undercard and a win by Adamek will hopefully see promoter Don King make the rematch before the end of the year. ***IBF flyweight world champion Vic Darchinyan will defend his world title in Sydney on July 27, but it will not be against Irishman Damaen Kelly. Negotiations have fallen through and two new opponents in Rosendo Alvarez and Jair Jimenez are now being looked at. The venue for the defence may be the Sydney Entertainment Centre, but it could also be the State Sports Centre at Homebush.***OPBF middleweight champion Sakio Bika rematches Yoshihiro Araki in Osaka, Japan on July 18. "We are stepping up Sakio's work now," said co-trainer Billy Hussein. "These are the sort of fights we are expecting Sakio to win and win well. He is improving every fight and we will see him moving up the world ratings quickly this year."***Jeff Fenech and Tony Caradonna/Shannan Taylor's Blaster Promotions will combine to stage a strong card on July 1 at the Panthers World of Entertainment in Penrith. Shannan Taylor, Lovemore Ndou and Adam Vella will feature in separate bouts, while Team Fenech's exciting middleweight prospect Daniel Geale will face Steve Douet. ***On the same night in Sydney on July 1, Nedal "Skinny" Hussein will headline a card at the Belleview Function Centre in Bankstown. Ahmed Elomar and Chris Hamilton will also appear in separate bouts.***The full colour, 192 page "Australian Boxing Almanac 2005" at a cost of $14.95 can be purchased on-line at http://www.aussieboxing.com.au/ . The Almanac contains rankings of the top 25 Australian boxers pound for pound with stories on each, rising stars, full records of over 230 active Australian boxers, greats of the past and lots more.Paul UphamContributing Editor