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UNDERCARD ACTION
* As if already dismissing his chances in the SEBL, eccentric Belgian Jean-Pierre Coopman had said yesterday that he was hoping the HBF offer him a contract to take part in their upcoming Qualifying League tournament.
Now, as federation president Michael Vincennes said back on Monday, "To stay employed by us, you'll need to be competitive." Unfortunately for Coopman, competitive is one thing that he has struggled to be and it only got worse for him tonight as 9th-seeded Italian Nini Perroni achieved his first professional victory, defeating Coopman by unanimous decision (58-55, 58-56, 58-55).
With the exception of the opening round, Coopman was terribly average. He tasted the canvas early in round two and from that point on, Perroni was in control, spurred on by a vocal home crowd.
Coopman's record is now 1-2-1(1). Wins will be imperative in his upcoming bouts if he wants the dream of that Qualifying League contract to become a reality.
* 7th-seeded Croatian Lovro Alanovic wrapped up a spot in the tournament semi-finals with a unanimous decision victory (59-55, 58-56, 59-55) against Spain's Pablo Ramirez.
In command for most of the contest, Alanovic was particularly effective in rounds three and five and improved his record to a league-best 3-0-1. He'll be fighting 2nd seed Markus Stober in his next bout, with a win for Alanovic more than likely to spell the end of the German's semi-final chances.
(to be continued)
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