Bektemir Melikuziev removed from championship fight, Munguia finds a favorable opponent
An unexpected and overtly controversial decision has been made in professional boxing's super middleweight division. Our compatriot Bektemir Melikuziev, who has been the #1 official mandatory challenger under the WBA, has been officially stripped of his title bout against reigning world champion Jaime Munguia.
According to an official report by DAZN Boxing, instead of holding a mandatory defense fight against the Uzbek boxer, the Mexican champion was given the opportunity to make a voluntary defense of his belt against an entirely different opponent.
Big card in Riyadh: Canelo and Munguia's new opponent
The lineup for the next massive boxing evening scheduled in Saudi Arabia has been announced:
Super show on October 31: Riyadh Season promoters presented the full card of the tournament to be held in the city of Riyadh;
Main event: In the central fight of the evening, former undisputed champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez will step into the ring against undefeated Christian Mbilli for the WBC belt;
Munguia's favorable choice: In the evening's undercard, Jaime Munguia will make a voluntary defense of his WBA championship title. Russian Nikita Zonzon, ranked only 9th in the rankings, was chosen as his opponent.
Deadlines and regulations trampled: Why wasn't October 21 awaited?
The WBA's actions, contrary to its own issued decision, have raised serious doubts in the boxing community:
One-year challenger status: Bektemir Melikuziev had been maintaining the 1st spot in the rankings for over a year, honestly waiting for his title fight;
Broken deadline: In September, the organization issued an instruction regarding the mandatory fight, setting an official deadline of October 21 for the parties to finalize negotiations;
Unexpected twist: Although there were still nearly two weeks left before the set time expired, the association allowed the champion to fight a boxer from the bottom of the rankings.
Rejected money, free fight, and Tashkent call
During negotiations, Munguia's team pulled out all the stops to back away from a clash with Bektemir:
"Step-aside" trick: The Mexicans offered Melikuziev a special financial compensation to temporarily vacate his challenger turn and wait;
Courageous stance: Our compatriot flatly rejected the money, openly stating: "Sports rules must be respected, I am ready to fight for the belt even for free (without a purse) and without tests";
Financial offer: Bektemir offered to hold the fight in Uzbekistan and pay Munguia extra if the issue was the purse, but the champion completely ignored these calls.
Many independent sports experts note that the Mexican leather-glove master, fearing Bektemir Melikuziev's devastating punches in order to retain his belt, bypassed this uncompromising clash with the support of Saudi promoters. The WBA's blatant disregard for the interests of its mandatory challenger has once again cast doubt on the issue of transparency in international boxing organizations.
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