Purse bid takes bout to Ukraine

The purse bid was held in Panama today for the WBA welterweight title bout between champion Vyacheslav Senchenko and mandatory challenger Paulie Malginaggi.

The bout is now set to take place at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, Ukraine in April after the bid was taken by Sechenko’s promoters Union Boxing. The president of the promotional company, Yuri Ruban commented on the importance of gaining home advantage for the 34 year-old title holder.

"For us it was important to beat our opponents bid so that in the future we can dictate the basic terms of the forthcoming battle,” stated Ruban.

“We managed to do that, and now fight for the championship crown will be held on our territory, with the support of our fans. Senchenko v Malignaggi will be a real gem of the upcoming card in April.”

Malignaggi, 31, and promoters Golden Boy did make an effort to stage the bout in America – but the New Yorker will now travel for the third time in his career. His two previous away fights both brought victories as the ‘Magic Man’ claimed wins over Lovemore Ndou and Michael Lozada in the UK and Canada respectively in 2008 and 2010.