Word has it that a fight between WBA #5 Fres Oquendo and WBA #4 Shannon Briggs (60-6-1, 53 KOs) is expected to be announced in the near future for the vacant WBA championship.. Australian Lucas Browne was lined up to fight Oquendo for the WBA title but a second drug test failure has sidelined Browne.. Briggs spent the best part of his comeback, first pursuing Wladimir Klitschko publicly before turning his attention on David Haye, even boxing on his undercard to initially honour a verbal contract to fight the former two weight champion until David opted for an easier route against WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew, reneging on the deal.. As luck would have it, the publicity proved fruitful, a championship bout with Browne was on the table 2 months ago, and now this more realistic deal against a live fighter in Fres who has stood as mandatory ever since his last bout, a decision loss to Ruslan Chagaev over 2 years ago for the Russians then WBA crown..
Oquendo is about to turn 44 in April, and a 2 year layoff is a long time for someone jumping straight back into a title fight.. Oquendo did however look competitive in his losing effort back in July 2014, the last time Oquendo actually won a fight was against journeyman Galen Brown in May of the same year.. His last meaningful victory was over journeyman Derric Rossy in 2013..
Both guys have had bouts of inactivity and have had suffered setbacks throughout their careers, even if Briggs is from another era, it could be an interesting fight between two very capable heavyweights..
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