WBA declares Chris John to be Gamboas first mandatory.

[url]http://www.8countnews.com/news/125/ARTICLE/2900/2010-09-13.html[/url]



In accordance to the WBA's agreement to sanction the title unification fight against Orlando Salido, Yuriorkis Gamboa is required to defend his newly acquired WBA and IBF featherweight titles against former undisputed title holder Chris John. The schedule of the mandated title fight will depend on when John will recover from injury sustained last July in preparation of his title defense against Fernando Saucedo.


As of last month, John was the undisputed featherweight champion and Gamboa the "regular" titleholder in the already diluted title belt picture painted by the sanctioning bodies. John, in WBA's most recent official ratings was relegated to "champion in recess". This then rationalized their decision to sanction Gamboa's unification fight against former IBF champ Orlando Salido as another undisputed title fight or super championship.


In response to an inquiry made to WBA Executive Vice President Gilberto Mendoza, Jr. on the confusion as to why last Saturday's unification bout was sanctioned as another undisputed title fight, he replied, "The status of Chris John is champion in recess due to an injury sustained in his training camp before preparing to defend his portion of the title. The condition of approval of Gamboa v. Salido was subject to the winner facing John to determine the super champion."


A fight against John will be an appetizing step up for Gamboa before his highly anticipated clash against WBO counterpart and fellow Top Rank stable mate Juan Manuel Lopez. If Top Rank decides on continuing to marinate the highly anticipated Gamboa-Lopez clash, John-Gamboa is not a bad alternative. Better yet an excellent co-feature to a JuanMa against WBC champ Elio Rojas for another unification. Both are challenging yet winnable bouts for the Guantanamo cyclone and the Puerto Rican sensation. That will add significance to their collision with the lineal or Ring title up for grabs. Wishful thinking of course.


John has an agreement with Golden Boy promotions which may hinder an issue-free negotiation unless the WBA declares a purse bid.

 

It should unless one of them straight out refuses.

 

John is the Champ in Recess.