The WBA ordered a pair of necessary defenses at present, directing welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis to fulfill Shakhram Giyasov and tremendous light-weight titlist Gary Antuanne Russell to combat Andy Hiraoka.
Uzbekistan’s Giyasov (17-0, 10 KO) beat Harold Calderon in a June 2023 eliminator and has spent the 22 months since in a holding sample, selecting up a trio of wins over Pablo Cesar Cano, Miguel Parra, and Franco Maximiliano Ocampo. Although nearly everybody save Matchroom would favor Ennis (34-0, 30 KO) leap into one other unification bout after smashing Eimantas Stanionis earlier this month, caring for his necessary obligation could also be his most suitable choice, as rumors abound of Brian Norman Jr vs Jin Sasaki and Mario Barrios vs Manny Pacquiao.
This order does have some basic WBA wankery connected, nevertheless, as they’ve elected to resurrect their bogus “world” title and provides it to the winner of Ryan Garcia vs Rolly Romero subsequent week. That is regardless of the 2 combining for a staggering zero wins at 147.
Russell’s (18-1, 17 KO) first title bid noticed him wrestle with the vary and craft of Alberto Puello, however he bounced again final month by outclassing Jose Valenzuela for each the WBA title and his first determination victory. Hiraoka (24-0, 19 KO), for his half, secured high contender standing by battering Ismael Barroso in September. “Da Blade” has knocked out 10 consecutive opponents, together with the aforementioned Sasaki, and may produce an absolute banger with Russell.
