PRESS RELEASE: Turkish hero Sinan Samil Sam (30-4-0, 16 ko) and Matt Skelton (21-2-0, 18 ko) will fight for the vacant European heavyweight championship on May 30th in Istanbul, Turkey. Sam’s promoter Ahmet Öner, head of Hamburg based Arena Box-Promotion, had won the purse bid. “The Bull from Bosporus” wants to recapture the title against Skelton who just lost against Ruslan Chagaev in January. Sam was European Champion between 2002 and 2004 before losing to Luan Krasniqi.
 
“I know that this is my last chance”, states Sinan Samil Sam. “By winning the European crown I might even get a shot at the world title. To fight in front of my home crowd means a lot to me – especially because I got to make up for the loss against Oliver McCall in Ankara last year.”

On June 16th, 2007 Ahmet Öner had promoted the first professional boxing show in Turkey in almost 30 years featuring the main event WBC International championship between McCall and Sam. Now the show on May 30th will be the second in only four weeks. On April 25th ARENA’s “Mini-Tyson” Selcuk Aydin will fight against South Africa’s Lucky Lewele in his hometown Trabzon at the Black Sea.

 
“The Turkish people want to see professional boxing," states Öner. “The show in Ankara left them fired up begging for more. They receive us with open arms – especially because I got all their national heroes: Sinan, Selcuk and Olympic silver medallist Atagün Yalcinkaya.”