Howard Eastman's potentially-explosive European middleweight title defence against big-punching London rival Wayne Alexander is not going to happen.

In one of the more predictable domestic boxing developments, Alexander's promoter Frank Warren will not be staking a purse bid for the fight as called for by the European Boxing Union.

Instead Alexander will be steered down the well-trodden World Boxing Organisation path, with a fight against Argentinian Hector Velazco possibly deciding their title if current champion Harry Simon is stripped for inactivity.

Alexander said: "We've agreed we're going to pull out of the Eastman fight.

"The challenger gets a small percentage in these situations and we think I am worth more than that."

Warren has engaged in an increasingly unseemly tit-for-tat exchange with Eastman's promoter Mick Hennessy in recent weeks after talk of a mouth-watering match between Eastman and Joe Calzaghe proved pie-in-the-sky.

The EBU's recommendation of Alexander set up another major fight British boxing fans would have craved, but the sport's politics have ensured they have been left short-changed again.

Both fighters perform on rival television networks - but purse bids ought to have ironed out that kind of wrangling with the winning promoter staging the contest on his chosen channel.

Hennessy said: "I feel a bit let down that Alexander has been withdrawn because I was confident I would have won the purse bids.

"British boxing needs to see more big names fighting each other and this would have been a great fight while it lasted.

"It's a great shame and a loss to the sport."

Alexander would have made a name for himself by beating Eastman and even gained plenty of prominence from a gutsy defeat.

But instead viewers the length and breadth of the country will hardly be slavering over their television sets when he steps into the ring against some practically unknown Argentinian.

Alexander won the vacant European light-middleweight title in January last year when he stopped Italian Paolo Pizzamiglio in three rounds.

But those pesky politics contributed to a 12-month lay-off before he stepped up to middleweight and finally returned five months ago with a low-key points victory over Victor Fesetchko in Preston.

Victory over Velazco will give Alexander a nice belt to tie around his waist but hardly earn him recognition as a world champion - especially given that previous holder Simon beat him in five rounds two years ago, albeit at two days' notice.

None of which is the fault of Alexander, whose profile has gradually diminished through an inability to secure other meaningful bouts against fellow British contenders such as Takaloo or Anthony Farnell.

Alexander admitted: "It's been very frustrating recently and I was a bit rusty in my last fight but I got him out of there.

"I actually prefer light-middleweight. I've got all the advantages there because I feel strong and I punch harder.

"I've been boxing at light-middle since I was 19 and nobody is stronger than me. At middleweight I lose my advantages against the bigger men."

Former British champion Alexander believes his previous run-in with Simon - which was for the WBO's light-middle crown - stood him in good stead for the future.

The Croydon man added: "In hindsight it did make me a stronger person because it showed me the class which exists between British and world level.

"I really learnt off Harry Simon and it was a good experience. Now I want the chance to prove how far I've come."