WBC President: Rau’shee Warren vs. Nordine Oubaali For Vacant Bantamweight Belt Set For October

It’s been months since there has been any update of the situation regarding the vacant WBC bantamweight title, but now president Mauricio Sulaiman stated there is a fight date for the title.

Sulaiman spoke with ESPN Deportes and stated that the title, which has been vacant throughout most of the year, will be fought between Nordine Oubaali and Rau’shee Warren, the No. 1 and No. 4 ranked boxers at bantamweight by the WBC, next month at a venue to be announced later. 

“The vacant bantamweight title has been assigned to the fight between Oubaali and Warren and there will be a series of eliminators for that belt. The [title] fight will take place in October, but we have not been informed of a precise date,” Sulaiman said.

The matchup is a different one than what was ordered a few months back, which was Oubaali vs. Petch Sor Chitpattana, the two highest-ranked bantamweights in the WBC rankings. The two were originally supposed to fight this summer in France, but the fight quietly fell through due to reasons never made public.

As for the aforementioned challengers for that belt, Carlos Cuadras’ name was mentioned by Sulaiman. Sulaiman would go on to explain that Cuadras could be a challenger down the road, but the WBC President recommends Cuadras fight again and then be assessed physically and emotionally in the wake of Cuadras’ recent trip at a rehabilitation center for his substance abuse problems.

The title was previously held by Luis Nery, but was stripped of the belt for missing weight before a March title defense against Shinsuke Yamanaka.