While the WBA already has its world heavyweight champion in Anthony Joshua, the governing body still has to fix its issue with the vacant "regular" title, creating a title eliminator with the winner fighting Fres Oquendo for the title.
Organizers have announced that Alexander Ustinov and Manuel Charr, the two highest-ranked available heavyweights in the WBA rankings, are expected to fight in Germany on November 25. The winner of that fight is expected to fight Oquendo, who has not fought since 2014, for the "regular" title.
The reason why such an inactive fighter like Oquendo is still given a world title fight is that he is legally owed a WBA world heavyweight title opportunity. The WBA owes Oquendo a title fight from a ruling in U.S. federal court a few years ago. Oquendo was supposed to fight Shannon Briggs for the title earlier this year, but Briggs failed a drug test and was handed a six-month suspension by the organization, leaving Oquendo without an opponent.
Ustinov has won his past seven fights since losing his only fight back in 2012 against Kurat Pulev. Ustinov is coming off a TKO win over Raphael Zumbano Love in May in his last time out. The 40-year-old Russian is a former WBA International and IBO Intercontinental heavyweight champion.
Charr once challenged for the WBC heavyweight title back in 2012 but was stopped in the fourth round by Vitali Klitschko. Charr has a 3-2 record in fights since the start of 2015, losing to Johann Duhaupas and Kubrat Pulev.