As part of an ongoing effort to salvage its reputation after the Mykal Fox vs. Gabriel Maestre debacle, the WBA has officially declared all of its interim titles vacant.
After a thorough analysis of each division, the WBA has announced several mandatory fights and box-offs between selected fighters. While the interim championships are no longer in effect and the interim title fights that had been approved will now be eliminator fights, the WBA has also announced a number of mandatory and box-off fights between selected fighters.
Twitter user Deuce compiled a list of now-former titlists:
Former “interim” champs will now immediately become mandatory for the WBA World title:
HW- Daniel Dubois
CW- Robin Krasniqi
MW- Chris Eubank Jr
JWW- Alberto Puello
LW- Rolando Romero
JLW- Chris Colbert
JFW- Raesee Aleem
FLW- Luis Concepción
JFLW- Daniel Matellón
MNW- Erick Rosa https://t.co/o6cTqNCHxC— Deuce (@rangerrollins) August 25, 2021
Colbert and Concepcion recently got the call to face the next-highest ranked titlists, Roger Gutierrez and Artem Dalakian. Based on the current title situation, we can expect the following orders:
- Daniel Dubois vs. Trevor Bryan
- Dmitry Bivol vs. Robin Krasniqi. Krasniqi will most likely get “go away” money to let Bivol fight #2 Joshua Buatsi
- Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Erislandy Lara
- Gervonta Davis vs. Alberto Puello OR Rolando Romero. The WBA have asked Davis to confirm which of his three titles he’ll defend next.
- Ra’eese Aleem vs. Murodjon Akhmadaliev
- Daniel Matellon vs. the winner of Hiroto Kyoguchi vs. Esteban Bermudez
- Erick Rosa vs. Vic Saludar
Don’t get your hopes up about the “world” or “gold” titles going away anytime soon, unfortunately.
In the case of reigning Gold champions, they will no longer appear “above the rankings”; however, they will occupy a place in the lists as from the next world ranking. They will be ranked just below the former interim champion or the official challenger. While they may be ordered to participate in eliminations or box-offs depending on the division.
Gold champions and regional champions who are not mandatory challengers or will not be participating in an eliminator or box-off, may be allowed to participate in title defenses, all with the prior approval of the committee.
The Championship Committee can still order mandatory defenses of the Gold Championship or the regional championship. The resolution sent out Wednesday supersedes any of those issued in the past and helps advance the WBA’s world championship reduction plan.
Credit where it’s due, this is definitely a step in the right direction. The WBA still has a ton of ground to cover, but it’s a good start.