April 16, 2024

Charr vs Oquendo likely headed to Chicago

Fres Oquendo’s team easily won a purse bid for his shot against Manuel Charr.

Photo credit should read MEHDI FEDOUACH/AFP/Getty Images

POW Sports, part of heavyweight veteran Fres Oquendo’s team, won a purse bid on Friday to claim the rights to the WBA “world” heavyweight title fight between Manuel Charr and Oquendo, bidding $600,000 compared to $101,000 from Charr’s team.

Now, ESPN reports, the fight between the two is likely headed to Chicago, Oquendo’s home base.

Oquendo (37-8, 24 KO) hasn’t even fought since a July 2014 loss to Ruslan Chagaev in Russia, a controversial majority decision that was another hard break for the Puerto Rican battler, whose career has been filled with narrow and debatable defeats.

Oquendo will turn 45 on April 1, so this is probably his last shot at a world title, however seriously you take the WBA’s secondary belt. (Anthony Joshua is the true WBA champion, their “super” champion.)

Charr (31-4, 17 KO) is more fringe contender than champion himself, in all reality. He won the vacant belt in November against Alexander Ustinov. He’s probably best known for one-sided losses to Vitali Klitschko in 2012 and Alexander Povetkin in 2014.

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