On the back of Tyson Fury’s decision to relinquish the WBA ‘Super’ title as the Briton recovers from personal problems, mass confusion reigned as to who would be put forward for the belt.
Lucas Browne and Fres Oquendo both had claims to the ‘Regular’ championship, whilst Wladimir Klitschko, who was due to meet Fury. made it clear he wanted first crack at the ‘Super’ version.
To keep all happy, the WBA ruled Klitschko could face Anthony Joshua with the ‘Super’ belt on the line in 2017, whilst Browne would battle next available contender Shannon Briggs given the fact that Oquendo wouldn’t be ready to take his place until late spring at the earliest.
Oquendo will now meet the winner of Browne v Briggs within 120 days of the contest.
It’s not an ideal scenario for the WBA as they had hoped to crown one sole champion in 2016, although interim status was dropped when Luis Ortiz gave up his strap to potentially go down an alternative route.
Below is the full resolution released by the WBA on Tuesday:
