Russian picks up 154lb title following interim victory

Sergiy Dzinziruk has paid the price for pulling out of scheduled title defence against Lucas Konecny and is no longer the WBO light-middleweight champion after being stripped of the title.

The 35 year-old has only boxed once in seventeen months at middleweight against Sergio Martinez and the WBO have now acted to install interim champion Zaurbek Baysangurov as the new title holder.

Baysangurov, 26, who defeated Mike Miranda in July for the interim belt, has now been given ten days to negotiate to face mandatory challenger Konecny or the contest will be put to purse bids.

The 33 year-old European title holder from the Czech Republic has earned his second shot at the title after failing against Dzinziruk in a 2008 challenge.