The winner of a recently ordered title fight will have an immediate challenger waiting in the wings.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the teams for Victor Morales and Luis Nunez have been contacted by the sanctioning body to immediately begin negotiations for an ordered title eliminator. The pair of unbeaten featherweights will have until December 3 to work out terms for a fight to determine the mandatory challenger for the now vacant WBA featherweight title.
“Please consider this communication as negotiations notification for the WBA Featherweight Final Elimination fight,” WBA Championship Committee chairman Carlos Chavez noted to both parties in an official letter obtained by Boxing Scene. “Please take notice, that pursuant to [WBA] championship rule C.30, an elimination bout shall be boxed between the two highest rated available contenders….and shall have no more than thirty (30) days to negotiate the bout.”
Morales is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, while Dominican Republic’s Nuñez has twisted his way to contention under the guidance of Sampson Lewkowicz’s Sampson Boxing banner.
The order was sent immediately after top contenders Otabek Kholmatov (11-0, 10KOs) and Raymond Ford (14-0-1, 7KOs; 1NC) were instructed to begin talks for a vacant WBA featherweight title fight. The belt was relinquished by Nottingham’s Leigh Wood shortly after his October 7 ninth-round knockout of Josh Warrington, as he now plans to campaign in the 130-pound junior lightweight division.
Morales (19-0-1, 9KOs) rapidly advanced from prospect to contender in a breakthrough 2023 campaign.
The 25-year-old from Vancouver, Washington made waves after a second-round knockout of Diego De La Hoya on April 29 in Arlington, Texas. Morales added a more competitive ten-round, unanimous decision win over Edwin Palomares on September 16 in Commerce, California. Both bouts took place on DAZN shows headlined by unbeaten lightweight contender William Zepeda (29-0, 25KOs).
Nunez (19-0, 13KOs) has been matched far more aggressively during his rise through the rankings. The 24-year-old Dominican has faced and defeated unbeaten opposition in all four U.S. appearances since his September 2021 stateside debut. He has not fought since a ten-round decision over Christian Olivo in their April 8 Showtime-televised bout from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
While Nunez has primarily fought on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC)-branded events, Lewkowicz has a terrific working relationship with Golden Boy Promotions. With that comes the hopes of a deal to be reached for this stellar matchup.
In the event the two sides cannot reach terms, a purse bid hearing will be assigned to determine promotional rights. Both boxers would earn 50 percent each of the winning amount.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox