Manuel Charr's first defence of WBA 'regular' belt against Fres Oquendo has gone to a purse bid
Thursday 8 February 2018 17:02, UK
Manuel Charr's first defence of his WBA 'regular' heavyweight title against Fres Oquendo has gone to a purse bid.
The 33-year-old champion was ordered to face mandatory challenger Oquendo after claiming the belt with a unanimous points win over Alexander Ustinov in November.
Both fighters will learn more details about the fight when a purse bid is held in Canada on Friday.
A statement from the WBA read: "The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee called the fight between Manuel Charr and Fres Oquendo for the heavyweight title, which is currently held by Charr, to a purse bid on Friday, February 9.
"Oquendo is the mandatory challenger to the crown, and Charr was notified about this through a resolution last year, which indicated that both had to reach an agreement to fight and set a deadline of December 22.
"Both parties were duly notified, the percentage will be 50% for each one and the purse bid will take place in The Westin Prince, located at 900 York Mills Rd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada."
Oquendo was originally due to face Shannon Briggs for the vacant title in June, but the bout was called off after the American failed a drug test.
The 44-year-old Puerto Rican has not fought since he failed to claim the WBA 'regular' belt in a points loss to Ruslan Chagaev in 2014.
