SALITA PROMOTIONS AND UNIVERSUM-BOX PROMOTION ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO BRING ELITE EUROPEAN FIGHTERS TO FIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES
Dmitriy Salita, President of US-based Salita Promotions proudly announces a partnership with long-time German promotional powerhouse Universum Box-Promotion GmbH to represent their fighter roster in the North American market, including staging events in the United States and working with broadcasting partners to share Universum Box-Promotion boxing shows in Germany with viewers in North America.
Ismail Özen-Otto, CEO of Universum, says he’s pleased to have reached this accord with Salita. “I am happy about our partnership with Salita Promotions,” said Özen-Otto. “Now we have a strong partner in the US market and can present international fights. In the future, we would like to broadcast from Germany to the USA, because there is great potential in Germany.”
In addition to his domestic stable of contenders and champions, the agreement helps Salta continue to extend the reach of his company that already includes a sizable number of fighters from the former Soviet Bloc, as well as others from Sweden, Iceland, and the UK.
“I am delighted to partner up with Universum, a worldwide boxing brand that produced some of the best fighters and most exciting fights of recent decades in the sport of boxing,” said Salita. “With its excellent team, headed by promoter Ismail Özen Otto and Matchmaker Flavio Mirabal, we will work together to provide US exposure to their roster of very talented fighters from around the world.”
Universum’s current fighter stable features a long list of established contenders and former champions, as well as some of the most promising prospects in Europe, including five-time, multi-division former world champion Felix “The Fighter” Sturm (41-5-3, 18 KOs); Armenian-born German Olympic medalist, and BDB German International and IBO Continental Super Lightweight Champion, Artem “The Original” Harutyunyan (9-0, 6 KOs); as well as undefeated heavyweight prospects José Angel “The Cuban Colossus” Larduet (5-0, 4 KOs) a 6′ 4½″ 260-lb former amateur standout from Hamburg, Germany via Santiago de Cuba, Cuba and 6′ 3″ 230-lb IBO Inter-Continental Heavyweight Champion Zhan Kossobutskiy (15-0, 14 KOs) from Kazakhstan.
Also fighting under the Universum banner are a pair of fighting brothers, WBC Youth World Cruiserweight, WBC Youth World Light Heavyweight, IBF European Super Middleweight and IBO Continental Super Middleweight Toni Kraft (16-1-2, 4 KOs) and his undefeated younger sibling James “The Baby Boy” Kraft (19-0-1, 10 KOs) a WBC Youth World Light Heavyweight and IBO Youth World Light Heavyweight Champion.
“The negotiations with Dmitry Salita were very pleasant,” added Universum Matchmaker Flavio Oleaga Mirabal. “He has similar ambitions as we do in boxing and recognized our potential in the promotion. It is exactly the right step and we are looking forward to big fights in the USA.” The new partnership’s events and broadcasts will be announced shortly.
