Joshua Buatsi appears to have been forced into another fight before getting his long-awaited shot at a world title.
British light-heavyweight discussed to face Dmitry Bivol won the WBA crown in the £175 weight class.
But the WBA turned down a request from Buatsi’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, to let the fight go on.
Instead, the sanctioning body ordered Russia’s Bivol, who was behind a horrific loss to Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in May, to face the challenger his compulsion and Gilberto, Alvarez’s colleague, who is Mexican. Ramirez.
“The WBA Championships Committee approved the mandatory showdown between light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and his mandatory challenger Gilberto Ramirez.
“After receiving a request for special permission to fight Joshua Buatsi from the champion and after extensive research on the same, the WBA denied that permission.”
The WBA Championships Committee approved the mandatory showdown between light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and his mandatory challenger Gilberto Ramirez
– WBA Boxing (@WBABoxing) August 10, 2022
Ramirez, nicknamed ‘Zurdo’, is a former WBO super middleweight world champion who moved up to light-heavyweight and eventually made his way into the highest ranks of the discipline.
The 31-year-old has a 44-0 record with 30 quick shots and was closest to Dominic Boesel at the Toyota Arena in Ontario in May.
For Buatsi, the WBA’s decision means he will now be involved in the agreed-upon IBF final elimination match with Jean Pascal.
Jalol Akhmedov, writer for Uzbekistan sports website Sports.uz, revealed on Twitter that Matchroom, the company promoting Buatsi, is in discussions with World of Boxing – Bivol’s main promoters – about organizing a performance in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in November.
Israil Madrimov, 27, a former WBA Intercontinental Super Junior champion in California who took part in a technical draw with Michel Soro at the O2 Arena in London in July, is prepared on the bill. , with details to be revealed in the process to see if the fight between Bivol and Ramirez, and potentially the ultimate IBF destroyer between Buatsi and Pascal, to shoot for Artur Beterbiev’s title, will land on same card.
