Charlie Edwards is no longer the WBC flyweight world champion after announcing that he is vacating the belt.
In a letter to the WBC, Edwards stated that he is no longer comfortable trying to make weight as a flyweight and noted that he struggled a lot in making 112 pounds for his most recent fight. As such, he is looking to campaign at 115 pounds where the current WBC champion is Juan Francisco Estrada.
"Me and my team have decided due to how much I struggled with the weight last time out it actually scared me about how much I was putting my health on the line and I can?t risk causing damage to myself as health is the single most important thing in life. I am gutted because I value being WBC world champion and so proud to be able to be in history as WBC flyweight world champion! The best belt in boxing by far. I want to continue to represent the WBC and really really want to push on through the super flyweight rankings and persuade the super flyweight title! But I wanted to let you know first before anyone else that I will be vacating the title to move up and challenge at the new weight. Thanks so much for everything," Edwards said.
In Edwards' most recent fight, he and Julio Cesar Martinez fought to a controversial "No Contest" after Martinez punched Edwards while Edwards was on the canvas. Initially, the fight was ruled a KO win for Martinez and was briefly the champion. However, the WBC looked at the fight replays after the official result was announced and overturned it from a Martinez win to a "No Contest." The WBC then said a rematch would happen between the two, but that appears to be no longer the case.
Edwards first won the WBC title last December with a 12-round decision win over Cristofer Rosales and followed it up with a unanimous decision win against Angel Moreno this past March.