The vacant WBC bantamweight title will have to wait a little while longer before anyone can claim it.
The title was supposed to be on the line when Petch Sor Chitpattana and Nordine Oubaali were going to fight on June 23 in Paris but the match has been delayed. The reason for the delay, according to Asian Boxing, is that the French Television company who were set to show the contest have failed to come up with the money needed for the bout on time, leaving the promoter struggling to meet the financial demands of the bout.
The fight plans to still continue but if negotiations for a new fight deal is not reached soon, the WBC will order a purse bid for the bout. The governing previously ordered the fight after former champion Luis Nery was stripped of the title for missing weight in his rematch against Shinsuke Yamanaka earlier this year. The June 23 card in Paris has not been canceled, however, as Olympic gold medalist Tony Yoka will have his biggest fight in his young career when he faces former Commonwealth and WBC International heavyweight title challenger David Allen.
Oubaali held the WBA Intercontinental and WBC Silver bantamweight titles and has won his lone fight of 2018, knocking out former world title challenger Luis Melendez. Chitpattana, a 24-year-old boxer from Thailand, sports one of boxing's best win-loss records today at 46-0.
The delay in the fight could also have ramifications in the WBC title situation. According to Asian Boxing, there is a rumored WBC world title eliminator between Marjohn Yap and Takuma Inoue, who are said to have agreed to have an eliminator set for later this year.
