WBA orders purse bid for Charr vs Oquendo
In news that most fans don’t care about, the WBA announced earlier today that a purse bid has been scheduled for the heavyweight championship bout between title-holder Manuel Charr and mandatory challenger Fres Oquendo. The bid is set to take place Friday in Toronto, Canada. According to a press release issued by the WBA, Charr and Oquendo will split the purse 50-50.
It will be Charr’s first defense of the regular WBA world heavyweight title. He won the then-vacant championship by defeating Alexander Ustinov by unanimous decision on November 25.
Oquendo, who hasn’t fought since June of 2014 when he lost his title fight against Ruslan Chagaev, is currently ranked number two by the WBA. He is still in position to fight for a version of the WBA’s title because he successfully sued Chagaev to get the rematch he was owed according to their contracts.
Anthony Joshua, who holds the “Super” WBA title, is considered the legitimate champion by pretty much everyone. Alexander Povetkin, ranked number one, is currently the mandatory challenger to Joshua. The winner of Charr/Oquendo would more than likely be next in line after Povetkin.
Honestly I doubt there’s very much interest in a fight for what amounts to a secondary title. The WBA has said in the past they were trying to do away with the dual champion format of a “Super” and “Regular” champion. If that was truly the case it seems like common sense would be once the “Regular” belt was “vacant” that would be the ideal time to let it just stay that but…. “Vacant” belts don’t collect sanctioning fees….
By: Chris Henderson
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