The WBC’s annual convention is in full swing, with announcements coming left and right. ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez is on the scene, bringing word of the most interesting developments.
Up at 168, Mauricio Sulaiman and co. ordered Christian Mbilli (28-0, 23 KO) to fight Jaime Munguia (44-1, 35 KO) for the interim title, which would in turn lead to a shot at Canelo had they any interest in making Canelo follow WBC regulations regarding mandatory defenses. This is among the most tantalizing action fights the sport has to offer and should be incredibly easy to make if Munguia gets past the ostensibly hapless Bruno Surace this Saturday, as both men fight under the Top Rank banner.
That said, Mbilli was previously in talks to fight Diego Pacheco in an IBF eliminator in January; he ultimately withdrew due to timing issues, but claimed to still be open to the fight later in the year. That matchup may prove to be more tempting, as it would actually lead to a title shot with William Scull at some point.
Similarly, an ordered super flyweight eliminator between Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez (52-4, 42 KO) and Andrew Moloney (26-4, 16 KO) likely won’t get off the ground. Putting aside the fact that Moloney hasn’t done squat to earn another title shot, Fernando Barbosa recently reported that Gonzalez is lining up a title fight with Phumelele Cafu early next year. Considering where Gonzalez is in his career, I can’t imagine him wasting time with an eliminator.
Galal Yafai (9-0, 7 KO) vs Francisco “Chihuas” Rodriguez Jr (39-6-1, 27 KO) at 112 is another weird one. Taken at face value, it makes total sense; Yafai has the interim belt and Rodriguez is the top contender, so having them square off while champion Kenshiro Teraji unifies with Seigo Yuri Akui is a no-brainer.
What’s off is how Rodriguez got here. After Teraji got the call to fight Cristofer Rosales for the vacant belt, the WBC directed Rodriguez to fight for the “silver” belt to prove he could make 112, which he technically hasn’t since 2016. He still hasn’t; his two fights since and upcoming one on Sunday were all at 115.
As far as things with a reasonable chance of happening, minimumweight champ Yokasta Valle (32-3, 10 KO) is “tentatively” set to defend her belt on February 22nd against 40-year-old Umi Ishikawa (12-3, 10 KO) and Matchroom is looking to set up a WBC/IBF featherweight unification between Skye Nicolson (12-0, 1 KO) and Nina Meinke (19-3. 4 KO).