Lucas was made mandatory by an official notification of the WBA Championship Committee on the 24th February this year. However Chagaev’s team explicitly stated that they wished their boxer to make an optional defence first on the 24th of April 2015 in Germany as they had a TV commitment confirmed for this specific date.
This was agreed on the basis that Lucas received financial compensation to “step aside”, with a view to the mandatory contest still happening this summer.
As it stands that ‘optional’ defence has been delayed and is now mooted for June 27. Lucas is more than willing to face Chagaev at any time and claims online that he was unable to honour a May 22 date are untrue.
Lucas would love to be preparing for the opportunity to become Australia’s first ever heavyweight world champion next month, but at this time it Chagaev’s voluntary defence that is holding matters up.
Hatton Promotions will be making further contact with the WBA this week to clarity any next steps and establish whether a purse bid will be ordered for the eagerly anticipated Chagaev v Browne match-up.
