Ohara Davies has been left baffled by the WBA’s decision to overlook him for a shot at the world title. With world junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor now stripped of the WBA belt, Davies was hoping to be picked to fight for the vacancy but he learned on Sunday night, that the WBA chose Alberto Puello to face Batyr Akhmedov. Even worse for Davies, the WBA also confirmed that Ismael Barroso, the Venezuelan puncher who withdrew from a November clash with Davies, will fight the winner of Puello-Akhmedov.
Davies, rated above Akhmedov has been left to face Spain’s Sandor Martin in an eliminator while former WBA champion, and fellow Probellum fighter, Regis Prograis has been told he would replace any of the contenders if they chose to pull out.
“When I found out about the WBA’s decision, I was gutted,” said Davies, who fights in Leeds on Saturday night. “I felt like I should have been given the shot next because I was meant to fight Ismael Barroso, but he pulled out of our fight, so I don’t understand how he can be made mandatory challenger for the title? I didn’t understand the WBA’s decision, but I have had to fight my whole life, and this is just another fight.”
Davies, who is also keen to fight Newcastle’s Lewis Ritson down the line, respects Martin’s ability but is confident of stopping the Spanish southpaw. “There is also a feeling of relief that I get to fight Sandor Martin in an eliminator, because I now get the chance to wipe the smile off Eddie Hearn’s [Martin’s promoter] face,” Davies added.
“Martin is a good fighter, he’s hard-working and he came in as the underdog against Mikey Garcia and got the win. He’s fast on his feet and a good boxer but one thing I know is that he isn’t a puncher. And all it will take is one right hand to the chin, from me, and it’ll be all over. After this fight in Leeds, give me another eight to ten weeks and I will be ready for Sandor, whether it’s here or in Spain.”
JUNE 13, 2022: The WBA Championships Committee determined that Dominican Alberto Puello and Uzbekistan's Batyr Akhmedov can fight each other for the WBA's vacant 140-pound title, last held by world champion Josh Taylor. After meeting with six teams of the top-ranked fighters days ago, the panel analyzed the siutation and ordered the Puello-Akhmedov bout, which must be negotiated in 15 days (until June 25th) or it will be open to purse bid on July 5th. Akhmedov is 10-1 including the World Series of Boxing and was arguably robbed in a WBA regular title fight vs. Mario Barrios in 2019. The winner of Puello-Akhmedov will have to face Venezuela's Ismael Barroso within 90 days of the first fight. Spain's Sandor Martin and the UK's Ohara Davies were also ordered to negotiate an eliminator fight, for which they will have a period of 50 days from the sending of the official communication from the WBA. The sixth boxer, Regis Prograis of New Orleans, is eligible to substitute for any of the fighters involved if any of them do not want to comply or cannot due to medical or any other reasons.
There will be no special permits for any of the boxers involved in the decision. The decision was made by the head of the WBA Championships Committee after extensive deliberation with the panel that participated in the meeting with the fighters’ teams.
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MAY 16, 2022: After stripping world 140-pound champion Josh Taylor of the WBA title last week, the sanctioning organization has scheduled a hearing with the representatives of the top six contenders (as ranked by the WBA) with the intention of seeking the best solution to fill the vacancy. The WBA, through its president Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, called the online hearing for this Tuesday, May 17th. The affected boxers are Alberto Puello (WBA #1 ranked), Ismael Barroso (WBA #2), Ohara Davies, Sandor Martín, (former WBA champion) Regis Prograis and Batyr Akhmedov. The hearing will be attended by WBA chief of staff Gary Shaw and a panel composed of Anthony Cardinale and Seymour Zivick. Each team will have fifteen minutes to present its case with no time extension. The panel will have five minutes after each presentation to ask questions and after a time of deliberation on each case, will present its opinion to President Mendoza, who will make the final decision.
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May 13, 2022: The WBA, as it has been threatening to do, stripped world champion Josh Taylor of Scotland, of the WBA junior welterweight championship for failing to fight the underqualified Alberto Puello. Taylor, coming off a a controversial win over Jack Caterall, still holds the other three major 140-pound championships, but is expected to move up to 147 pounds in his next fight. Puello will likley be ordered to face WBA #2 Ismael Barroso for the vacant title. Yecch! The WBA stated its justification as follows:
"On March 8th, the WBA ordered the mandatory fight between Taylor and WBA #1 rated Alberto Puello of the Dominican Republic. As dictated by rule C.13, the boxers had 30 days to reach an agreement but it was not completed. On April 5th, Puello’s team requested that the fight be called to a purse bid but the WBA waited until April 7th before calling the purse bid. Subsequently, on April 11th, the purse bid was ordered and scheduled for April 22nd. The purse bid was held and only TGB, Puello’s promoter, submitted a bid and thereby won the rights to organize the fight.
According to WBA rule D-11, the promoter who wins the purse bid shall have all fight contracts duly signed and delivered to the WBA by no later than twenty days from the date the winning bid is awarded. On May 3, 2022, the committee received the contract from Puello, and the deadline expired on Thursday, May 12th.
WBA Rule D 15 states that if the champion fails to sign a bout contract within the required twenty-day period after the award of the bid or refuses to participate in the bout for the winning promoter, he shall be deemed to have violated these Rules and may have his title vacated. Due to the lack of response from Taylor’s team, the committee proceeded to vacate the WBA 140-pound title, understanding that the rules must be known by all fighters who fight for a championship or are champions of the sanctioning body."
Taylor posted the following on Twitter: "FYI, I vacated it the belt I want stripped."
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APRIL 29, 2022: The WBC issued the following statement about the junior welterweight division, implying that the four sanctioning bodies have agreed to sequence the mandatory defense obligations of four-belt world champion Josh Taylor. It remains to be seen if that is a true statement, but here is the WBC's messaging: "As per prior communications and with the agreement which all 4 presidents (WBC-WBO-IBF-WBA) confirmed in the meeting held in Puerto Rico, the WBC mandatory defense is next, followed by the IBF. The WBC is hereby advising of the beginning of the free negotiations period for the Josh Taylor´s mandatory title defense versus Jose Zepeda. If no agreement is reached the WBC will conduct a purse bid on Tuesday, May 24th." [Taylor's last fight, a controversial win over Jack Caterall, was a WBO mandatory].
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APRIL 12, 2022: The WBA seems determined to get rid of Josh Taylor as its 140-pound champion. Taylor owns all four major titles but the WBA continues to press the case for Alberto Puello, the undeserving WBA mandatory contender. The WBA has now scheduled a purse bid at a ridiculously unfavorable split for Taylor, virtually guaranteeing that Taylor will vacate the WBA title and allow Puello to fight someone else for the vacated title. As of right now, that could mean Puello vs. WBA #2 Ismael Barroso for a vacant title. Yecch! Here is the WBA announcement of the April 22nd purse bid, with only 55% of the winning bid allocated to the world champion:
"The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has scheduled the purse bid for the mandatory bout between [140-pound] super champion Josh Taylor and his mandatory challenger Alberto Puello. The bidding will take place next Friday, April 22 online via the Zoom platform and will begin at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time in the United States. The negotiation period between the Scottish and the Dominican expired without reaching an agreement and that is why the bidding was ordered under the terms indicated in the WBA rules. This Monday, the communication was sent to the parties with all the conditions of the bidding, which will have a minimum amount of US $ 200,000.00 and whose split will be 55% for the champion Taylor and 45% for the challenge."
