This week the WBA Championships Committee ordered has mandatory title fights in the bantamweight, super featherweight and super lightweight divisions.
On June 28, the mandatory for Ricky Burns (40-5-1, 14 KOs), from Coatbridge, Scotland, United Kingdom, who won the vacant WBA super lightweight title on May 21 with a victory over Michelle DiRocco, was announced. Undefeated Kiryl Relikh (21-0, 19 KOs), from Minsk, Belarus, currently ranked #1 by the WBA, and Burns have 30 days to negotiate a fight for the WBA 140-pound title.
On June 30, WBA Super World bantamweight champion Rau’shee Warren (13-1, 4 KOs), from Cincinnati, Ohio, who won the title by majority draw over Juan Carlos Payano on June 18, and WBA World bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell (28-2-1, 13 KOs), from Doncaster, Yorkshire, UK, who TKO’d Fernando Vargas on April 9 in his most recent defense of his title, have 30 days to reach and agreement for their 118-pound unification bout.
Also on June 30, WBA Super World super featherweight champion Jezreel Corrales (20-1, 8 KOs), the southpaw from San Miguelito, Panama, who upset reigning and defending champion Takashi Uchiyama on April 27, has been mandated to meet newly crowned WBA World super featherweight champion Jason Sosa (19-1-4, 15 KOs), from Camden, New Jersey, who defeated Javier Fortuna on June 24. Corrales and Sosa have 30 days to come to terms for their 130-pound unification bout.
If the aforementioned fighters and their camps are unable to reach an agreement and submit signed bout contracts within the next 30 days, the WBA will issue a call for a purse bid.
This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.