By Luke Furman
According to Le Equipe, Nordine Oubaali (14-0, 11 KOs) will finally go for the vacant WBC bantamweight championship on January 19th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
He will face Rau'shee Warren as part of the Showtime Pay-Per-View card which features Manny Pacquiao defending his WBA "regular" welterweight title against former four division champion Adrien Broner in the main event.
Originally scheduled for Dec. 22 at the Barclays Center in New York, the fight was pushed back by nearly a month. The change of date suits Ali Oubaali, the coach of his brother, because he can be in the corner of Estelle Mossely on December 22 at the casino Deauville. That night, the Olympic lightweight champion will take part in her third pro fight.
IN OTHER NEWS: Dominican Juan Carlos “Merengue” Abreu (24-4-1, 19 KOs) aims to to shock current IBF USBA welterweight champion Alexander Besputin (11-0, 9 KOs) of Russia, in a duel that will be broadcast by the ESPN+ app this Saturday, December 8th at 6:00 pm ET.
The fight will be part of the world championship unification bout between José Pedraza and Vasyl Lomachenko at the Madison Square Garden Theater.
"I feel very well prepared for this fight. Focused and motivated for victory. It would be very important because it is at a huge event, and many people all over the world will see it. I’m just waiting to have that title, God willing”, said Abreu, who is trained by Chiro Perez in Florida, and managed by Spartan Boxing Club.
“Besputin is strong, and he is protected by Top Rank. I know I have to do extra work than I normally do for the win, and I have the experience to beat him or any other boxer. I am ready to win, and I hope the judges are fair to my performance”, he added.
In his last appearance, Abreu lost by unanimous decision in close fight against Egidijus Kavaliauskas of Lithuania.
"I know what it feels like to face the promoter’s fighter and lose unfairly. I’m in the same situation this Saturday, but that doesn’t take away my dream of being great in this sport. Let’s do this”, said Abreu.
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.
