WBA orders Hector Garcia vs. Lamont Roach

Source: WBA

21/03/2023

WBA orders Hector Garcia vs. Lamont Roach

The WBA Championships Committee has notified its 130-pound champion, Hector Garcia of the Dominican Republic, that his mandatory opponent is Lamont Roach of the Washington D.C. area.  Garcia is coming off a stoppage loss to Gervonta Davis, but that fight was held at lightweight, so he was able to maintain recognition as a WBA champion. He won the WBA belt on August 20, 2022 and, as indicated by the rules of the body, he has nine months to face his mandatory opponent and that deadline expires on May 20th. So, as the WBA rule C-13 indicates, the notification to the parties involved is made sixty days before the expiration of such period. Roach is 23-1-1, with the loss coming in a WBO title shot vs. Jamel Herring in 2019. In 2021, Roach defeated foirmer WBA champion Rene Alvarado. The two boxers have thirty days to negotiate and send the contracts to the WBA Championships Committee (until April 19th). Should any of the parties express their unwillingness to negotiate, the WBA will call for a purse bid auction, the percentage of which will be divided as follows: 75% for the champion and 25% for the mandatory challenger.