Charr adds to the mess that is the WBA regular heavyweight championship
3kingsboxing has learned WBA “regular” heavyweight champion Manuel Charr tested positive for two anabolic steroids.
The 33 year-old German fighter, was set to make his first title defense against Chicago native Fres Oquendo. The bout is scheduled to take place in Germany on September 29.
However with this recent news, the bigger question is will the WBA strip Charr?
Oquendo (45), has been dealing with this issue since 2014. If we look at the timeline, there has been much controversy surrounding this version of the heavyweight title.
Ruslan Chagaev made a successful defense against Oquendo but was later sued for breach of contract. He failed to honor a rematch clause.
He would go on to lose the title to Australian fighter Lucas Browne, who would later be stripped cause of a failed PED test.
The WBA title was returned to Chagaev, but then he got stripped for not paying sanctioning fees and ultimately retired. Before getting stripped, he was set to face Oquendo in a rematch.
Browne was set to face Shannon Briggs for the vacate title in 2016, however, that got cancelled when Browne tested positive for PEDs a second time.
Then Briggs was supposed to face Oquendo, only for this to be cancelled when Briggs failed a PED test.
So after that Charr battled Alexander Ustinov for the vacate title with the winner to defend against Oquendo.
Following a victory by Charr, the stage was set for Oquendo looking to conclude his pursuit of a title opportunity. This would hit a road block cause of a low purse bid outcome which has been resolved.
It’s unclear what the WBA will rule but Oquendo has to be extremely disappointed.
3kingsboxing will continue to follow this story for any further developments.
By: Garrisson Bland
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