Niyomtrong vs Rosa Possibly Back On he Schedule
For the longest, the boxing world has known that a fight will occur to consolidate the WBA minimumweight title between super champion Thammanoon “Knockout CP Freshmart” Niyomtrong (24-0, 9 KOs) and regular champion Erick Rosa (5-0, 4 KOs). After a purse bid, the bout is looking to take place in mid-October.
The WBA held the purse bid on July 21 after the camps of CP Freshmart and Rosa could not agree to terms. Rosa’s promoter, Shaun Boxing, won the purse bid.
THE STRUGGLE HAS BEEN REAL
Attempts to finalize this matchup have been a hassle. The fighters agreed, in principle, to face one another on a PBC card in the Fall of 2022. It was scrapped due to visa issues from CP Freshmart.
The fight was rescheduled and set for March 1, 2023, in Thailand, the home country Niyomtrong. Everything seemed like it was on the up and up. When Rosa arrived in Thailand for the fight, local authorities detained the regular champion because of issues with his passport. As a result, the match was canceled.
FEW EXPECTED THIS
It came as a bit of a surprise that Shaun Boxing won the purse bid. Many followers of the lower-weight divisions assumed that the camp CP Freshmart would win out. Word on the street is that Rosa’s promoter wants to stage the fight in the United States or at a neutral location such as Haiti.
According to the WBA, CP Freshmart vs Rosa must occur between September 19 and October 19. The sanctioning body also gave the fighters the option of a non-title bout.
Rosa has not fought since capturing the WBA Regular title with a split-decision victory over Vic Saludar in December 2021. The WBA Regular champion plans to take advantage of the non-title option and fight on August 25 in his home country of the Dominican Republic against an opponent to be determined.
