NEW UPDATES FOR THE WBC BRIDGERWEIGHT DIVISION & ON OSCAR RIVAS
By Robert Brizel, Head Boxing Correspondent
Oscar Rivas, 28-1 with 19 knockouts, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, by way of Colombia, won the World Boxing Council newly created World Bridgerweight title on October 22, 2021, by 12 round decision over Ryan Rozicki, at Olympia Theatre in Montreal, despite losing appoint in the twelfth and final round for low blows. Rozicki will return to action in Hamilton, Canada, against Arturs Gorlovs, of Riga, Latvia.
Rivas, in a different outcome, recently incurred a detached retina in sparring preparation for a scheduled 10 round bout with heavyweight Efe Ajagba, who is now fighting Stephen Shaw at Turning Stone Casino in Verona, New York, this weekend instead. The occurrence Of Rivas’ detached retina ended the possibility of Rivas defending his WBC Bridgerweight title in 2023 after over a year of inactivity. The 12 round war Rivas fought with Rozicki was particularly brutal. To date, Rivas has not demonstrated he has fully recovered from his titular win. With his recent medical diagnosis, the WBC had to immediately plan out the future of the phantom Bridgerweight division with a new titular roadmap.
In light of Rivas’ situation being sidelined for boxing indefinitely for the moment, former World Boxing Council World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder turned down the opportunity to fight for the now vacant WBC World Bridgerweight title, a weight class between cruiserweight and heavyweight, also known as super cruiserweight and junior heavyweight by some other boxing sanctioning authorities. Given that, the WBC has now issued the below official statement regarding the future of its WBC Bridgerweight division.
The new World Boxing Council Bridgerweight division is unable to define itself at present because its championship has not been defended, nor have its available other title belts been pursued. Rivas, unable to defend his title, has wound up as a champion in recess, similar to a situation the now retired former world heavyweight champion Dr. Vitali Kitschko once held.
In order for the Bridgerweight division to take hold, it requires a showcase fighter to make it work and give it legitimacy. Its creation by the WBC is insufficient. The future survival of the Bridgerweight division will depend on how well the WBC moves the division in 2023 and 2024 and attracts legitimate contenders into its Bridgerweight ratings, rather than names from cruiserweight and heavyweight maneuvered into the Bridgerweight ratings who for the most part are not really fighting at Bridgerweight.
Office Statement of the World Boxing Council
The World Boxing council regrets (to inform the general public of) Oscar Rivas’ injury. He (Rivas) has suffered a detached retina, and will not be able to fight his contracted bout with Lukasz Rozanski (WBC Bridgerweight world title defense). Consequently, the WBC has placed Oscar Rivas as a ‘champion in recess’ until he confirms his decision about his future.
The World Boxing Council Board of Governors voted in favor of the following resolution, to immediately address the status of the Bridgerweight division:
First, WBC number one ranked Alen Babic will face WBC number three ranked Lukasz Rozanski for the vacant WBC World Bridgerweight title with a 50-50 purse split, with the winner committed to comply with two mandatory defenses. The first mandatory will be against the winner of the final WBC Bridgerweight elimination bout between Ryad Merhy and Kevin Lerena.
Second, WBC number two Bridgerweight contender Ryad Merhy will face WBC number four Bridgerweight contender (and former IBO World Cruiserweight champion) Kevin Lerena in a world title elimination fight with a 50-50 purse split. The winner will then face the new WBC Bridgerweight world champion with a 60-40 split in favor of the champion.
The WBC has started a free negotiations period for both fights. If no purse agreement is reached for the proposed bouts in the next three weeks, a purse offer will be held in Mexico City, Mexico, on Tuesday, January 31, 2023. Promoters may participate in the negotiations via Zoom.
Current Bridgerweight Rankings
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