Olusegun Remains Next in Line for WBC Title Shot at 140

by David P. Greisman

Junior welterweight contender Ajose Olusegun is still in line for a mandatory shot at WBC 140-pound champion Danny Garcia — a shot that Olusegun once again waited for while another boxer fought for the WBC belt. Last night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Garcia (24-0, 15KOs) retained the title by stopping Amir Khan in four rounds.

“The WBC only approved the Khan-Garcia fight for the WBC title with the condition of a step-aside fee for Olusegun, with the champion defending next against Olusegun or declaring the title vacant,” WBC President José Sulaimán told BoxingScene.com via email Thursday night.

Khan-Garcia marked the third straight WBC title fight to go forward without Olusegun since he became mandatory challenger to the sanctioning body’s title.

Olusegun beat Ali Chebah in a WBC eliminator bout last September. But just six days before that, Erik Morales and Pablo Cesar Cano were allowed to fight for the vacant belt (which had been stripped from Timothy Bradley), rather than the two contenders who’d been placed in the eliminator.

Morales defeated Cano, and then Garcia beat Morales in March. And now Garcia defended the belt against Khan.

Though Olusegun is still guaranteed a shot at the WBC title, he isn’t necessarily going to go on to face Garcia. This past Saturday’s fight was a unification bout between the WBC beltholder (Garcia) and the recently reinstated WBA titlist (Khan). Earlier this week, the WBC informed BoxingScene.com that the winner of Khan-Garcia will need to choose one of the two sanctioning body titles and vacate the other.

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. Follow David on Twitter @fightingwords2 or send questions/comments via email at fightingwords1@gmail.com