The WBA has recrowned a heavyweight “champion” who ruled from 2017 to 2021 without defending the belt once. The coronation of Mahmoud Charr means the titleholder hasn’t put it on the line in six years.
He will do so in the coming months against one of heavyweight boxing’s most controversial figures.
Astonishingly, Charr won the ‘title’ and did not put it on the line for over three years during his first stint. He was then stripped but fought the decision in court and won.
Charr claimed the strap on November 25, 2017. He defeated Alexander Ustinov via a twelve-round unanimous decision in Oberhausen, Germany.
By lifting the little-regarded crown at the Koenig Pilsener Arena, Charr put himself in the frame for some significant challenges to come.
But the sad fact is Charr didn’t grace the ring again for over three and a half years. His title didn’t go up for grabs in three years and two months.
His opponent, Ustinov, competed three times in the interim as Charr’s career stalled. This problem arose due to an impending and ordered fight against his then-WBA mandatory, Trevor Bryan.
Before the 2019 Bryan order, Charr was locked in talks with Fres Oquendo. A former number contender who won a court case to fight for the WBA ‘regular’ belt despite being out of action since 2014.
Legal battles eventually took Oquendo an age in his pursuit. And by the time the fight could happen, ‘The Big O’ was too old.
Heavyweight champion
Therefore, the WBA moved on to stipulate Charr must face Bryan. Finally, a deal was struck for 2020 despite Oquendo previously challenging that ruling too.
Don King paid an eye-watering two million dollars at a Panama purse bid to stage the contest.
As the boxing world held its breath that Charr would put his strap on the line once and for all, the coronavirus struck and put the breaks on again.
The Oquendo curse was passed on to Charr, keeping the WBA ‘regular’ crown out of commission. Eventually, the WBA stripped Charr when his visa failed for a January 2021 clash with Bryan in Miami.
With Mahmoud Charr unable to perform at the show in South Florida, Don King, Trevor Bryan’s promoter, planned to proceed with changes to the scheduled headliner.
The HOF promoter requested a secondary WBA heavyweight title fight between Bryan and former WBC champion Bermane Stiverne in a petition to the WBA.
The title that didn’t die
The request was granted. Bryan won and lost it dismally to Daniel Dubois in his first defense. The belt was supposed to be out of existence after Dubois faced Oleksandr Usyk last month. It wasn’t.
WBA chiefs say they were forced to give Charr the title back, negating the reigns of both Bryan and Dubois.
As it turns out, Dubois should never have even gotten his shot at Usyk, as Charr was supposed to be in the opposite corner.
To call it a mess would be polite. The WBA now has an excuse to keep the title for at least two years. Charr will defend against Jarrell Miller.
He will then fall in line behind Filip Hrgovic and the winner of Zhilei Zhang vs Joe Joyce II for a shot at Usyk in the future.
Miller, who tested positive for the most banned substances from one sample, served out a three-and-a-half-year ban before returning to action in 2022.
