The WBA continues to draw criticism for its excessive use of interim titles. Reports from Argentina last month indicated that Mirco Cuello (Argentina, 16-0, 13 KOs), the WBA’s No. 1 ranked featherweight, would be competing for an interim title — and now that has been confirmed.
Cuello is set to face Omar Trinidad (USA, 19-1-1, 13 KOs), ranked No. 8 in the division, on August 1 (August 2 Japan time) in Benghazi, Libya, for the vacant WBA interim featherweight title.
Earlier this year, on February 1 (February 2 Japan time) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Cuello earned a come-from-behind TKO victory in the final round over then-No. 5 ranked Christian Olivo (Mexico, 22-3-1, 8 KOs) in a WBA featherweight title eliminator, securing the right to challenge reigning champion Nick Ball (UK, 22-0-1, 13 KOs).
In the super bantamweight division, Ramon Cardenas (USA, 25 wins, 14 KOs, 2 losses), who challenged Naoya Inoue (Ohashi Gym, 30-0, 27 KOs), the undisputed super bantamweight world champion, on May 4 (May 5 Japan time) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is now expected to fight for the WBA interim title. Cardenas put up a strong effort, even scoring a knockdown in Round 2, before ultimately losing by TKO in the eighth round.
Despite the loss, Cardenas has retained his No. 1 ranking, and his participation in an interim title bout is now seen as all but certain.
Gary Jonas of ProBox TV, who supports Cardenas, stated that the opponent is yet to be determined, but suggested that the details would likely be finalized by next month. Fans are now waiting for the official announcement of the fight schedule.
In the bantamweight division, a sudden development has emerged: 42-year-old former five-division world champion (including interim titles) Nonito Donaire (Philippines, 42 wins, 28 KOs, 8 losses), who was abruptly ranked No. 5, will face Andres Campos (Chile, 17 wins, 6 KOs, 2 losses, 1 draw), newly ranked at No. 8, in a WBA interim title fight.
The bout is scheduled to take place on June 14 (June 15 Japan time) at Casino Buenos Aires in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as part of the WBA “KO to Drugs” Festival.
At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before every division in the WBA has an interim champion. One organization now has three types of world champions — Interim, Regular, and Super.
It seems inevitable that we are entering an era where Regular and Interim title fights will once again be held simultaneously under a single sanctioning body.
The WBA was once on the verge of being unable to host title fights in the United States, which led to a push for unification bouts and an effort to eliminate interim titles. However, the organization is now once again accelerating the proliferation of interim titles.
It will be interesting to see how the WBA’s actions unfold going forward.
This article has been translated and published with permission from BOXING MASTER.
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