The heavy-hitting Aussie is the current mandatory challenger for Chagaev’s crown, but a series of uncontrollable issues have led to the fight being delayed.
Now, Hatton Promotions has taken the decision to allow Lucas to defend his WBA Intercontinental title against battle-hardened Basile in Melbourne on August 14.
The fight represents a huge risk as the South American has a solid record consisting of 66 victories with 30 knockouts from 77 contests. However, Ricky Hatton has every faith that Browne will prevail before going onto conquer Chagaev.
“It’s a very tough fight and a potential banana skin for Lucas, but everyone knows how hard he hits and I think Lucas will score another knockout,” Ricky said.
“Lucas is the kind of guy who wants to fight every week and he’s obviously been disappointed with the delay [to the Chagaev bout], but he now understands that it’s not the fault of Hatton Promotions or the WBA.
“Chagaev’s people wanted to delay the fight so they could face Francesco Pianeta and paid Lucas money to step aside. That fight got pushed back and then Fres Oquendo went through the courts to get a rematch with Chagaev.
“Now we’re on the verge of everything being sorted out and if Lucas gets past Basile, his next fight will be for the world title.
The Browne v Basile fight is part of an eight-fight card promoted by Brian Amatruda and will be broadcast free to air across Australia on Channel 9.
