(May 22, 2018)–Armin “The Bosnian Prince” Mrkanovic returned to the ring after an 11-month absence to win a win six-round unanimous decision over Nicholas Lavin in a cruiserweight bout that took place this past Friday night at Amazura Concert Hall in the Jamaica section of Mrkanovic’s hometown of Queens, New York. Mrkanovic controlled the action, and won by shutout scores of 60-54 on all cards to up his record to 8-3.
The bout was the first ring appearance for Mrkanovic since his highly controversial defeat against Josh Himes that took place last June 24th in West Virginia. In that bout, Mrkanovic should have been awarded the bout as he outboxed Himes, and even asked for a review of the fight by the UBF, but his requests fell on deaf ears, and now Mrkanovic is demanding a rematch for the UBF title.
Boxrec reports that prior to Mrkanovic’s controversial defeat, he had three straight wins by unanimous decision over Dave Valykeo, on February 14, 2015,at the Resorts World Casino, in Queens, New York; Eric George on June 14, 2013, at the Five Star Banquet, Queens, New York; and Franklin Edmondson, at the Marriott Downtown, in Greensboro, North Carolina, on October 20, 2012.
“1st of all, it was good to come back and get a win. It its always special to perform in front of my hometown fans,” said Mrkanovic, whose focus quickly turned to Himes and the UBF.
“I demand a rematch with Himes. The UBF told me that they would make this happen, and to this point they have been silent. Everyone who saw the fight knows that I got screwed, so it is only right that we do this rematch. Himes knows what happened. He has not even fought since our fight. I am ready now, so hopefully the UBF and Himes do the right thing and make this happen.” source/PR