The WBA made a clerical error in ordering unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev to face German contender Juergen Braehmer next, Kathy Duva of Main Events told RingTV.com on Thursday morning. She has since contacted the WBA and made them aware of the error, she said.
However, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza Jr. disputed that line of thinking in an email, saying that Kovalev was in fact mandated to face Braehmer next. At the same time, Mendoza stated the WBA wouldn’t stand in the way of Kovalev facing Andre Ward in November and advised Duva to request written permission to allow Ward-Kovalev to be next.
“(The) WBA will not interfere with Kovalev v. Ward,” Mendoza said. “The promoters may request a special permit in order to proceed with the bout. The condition is that the winner shall box Braehmer.”
Duval claimed that Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 knockouts) satisfied his WBA mandatory when he fought Nadjib Mohammedi in July of 2015, so the directive was an oversight. But Mendoza said this wasn’t the case. Mohammedi was not his mandatory but the “leading available contender for Kovalev in July 2015,” Mendoza said. “The WBA staff has been reviewing the archives but can’t find any communication on Nadjib Mohammedi as mandatory for the WBA.”
Mendoza said Main Events attorney Pat English reached out to clarify the situation. Kovalev has a deal to face Andre Ward on Nov. 19 in Las Vegas if Ward gets by Alexander Brand on Aug. 6. Kovalev will satisfy his IBF mandatory in that fight, Duva said.
The WBA’s announcement that Kovalev had 30 days to make a deal with Braehmer on Wednesday seemed to drop out of the sky. The boxing world has waited with bated breath for Kovalev and Ward to meet in November, and the thought the fight might not take place because the WBA ordered Kovalev to fight Braehmer instead seemed to make little sense. Braehmer holds a secondary light heavyweight belt.
“(The WBA) is trying to consolidate all their titles,” Duva said. “They weren’t next in line anyway. These sanctioning bodies have to take turns. The Kovalev-Ward fight is the mandatory for the IBF. So there’s no way this was going to occur and we knew it when we saw (the WBA letter).”
Mendoza pushed back against the idea the WBA made an error in ordering Braehmer to face Kovalev. “If by any reason there is a mistake we have no problem to accept it and correct the situation,” he said. “However (we) still can’t find any evidence (a mistake was made).”
Article courtesy of RING TV
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