WORLD BOXING COUNCIL NEWS OCT 8

08.10 - The general assembly meeting on Tuesday was devoted mainly to ratings. The heavyweight ratings were not completed until Wednesday morning and the new ratings will be available soon. A number of other issues were discussed on Tuesday, as well. One motion that was passed by a unanimous vote of the WBC Board of Governors increased the weight limit of the cruiserweight division from 190 to to 200 pounds.

The Wednesday meeting was devoted mainly to mandatory defenses. Several promoters and other fighter representatives participated in the discussions with WBC President Jose Sulaiman and the WBC Board of Governors, including Salvatore Cherchi of OPI 2000, Lou DiBella, Philippe Fondu, Raul Jaimes of Golden Boy Promotions, Klaus-Peter Kohl of Universum Promotions, Joe Koizumi, Sampson Lewkowicz, Don Majeski, Leon Margulies of Team Freedom, Yvon Michel of Interbox, Carl Moretti of Main Events, Jesse Robinson of Warrior Boxing, Wilfred Sauerland and Vernon Smith. Boxers Danny Green and Corrie Sanders also spoke during the meeting.

Strawweight: No. 1 ranked Isaac Bustos of Mexico was confirmed as the official challenger for world champion Jose Antonio Aguirre of Mexico. Bustos is also the North American Boxing Federation champion.

Light flyweight: World champion Jorge Arce of Mexico is in a voluntary defense phase. The motion passed for No. 1 ranked Juanito Rubillar of the Philippines to fight No. 2 Erick Ortiz of Mexico to determine the official challenger. Rubillar holds the WBC International title and Ortiz is the Central American Boxing Federation champion.

Flyweight: World champion Pongsaklek Wonjongkam of Thailand is scheduled to fight No. 1 ranked official challenger Hussein Hussein of Australia on November 14.

Super flyweight: World champion Masamori Tokuyama of Japan has reached an agreement to fight No. 1 ranked official challenger Dimitri Kirilov of Russia on January 3. The motion was passed for No. 2 ranked Reymando Hurtado of Colombia to fight No. 7 ranked Jose Navarro of the United States in an elimination bout to determine the new No. 1 ranked challenger.

Bantamweight: World champion Veeraphol Nakhonluang of Thailand is in a voluntary phase.

Super bantamweight: World champion Oscar Larios of Mexico is scheduled to fight No. 1 ranked official challenger Napopol Kiattisakchocchoi of Thailand on November 22. Napopol is the WBC International champion.

Featherweight: An interim world championship fight is scheduled next week between No. 1 ranked Injin Chi of Korea and No. 2 ranked Michael Brodie of Great Britain. World champion Erik Morales of Mexico has informed the WBC that he is moving up in weight to fight for the super featherweight world title next year. When he vacates the title, the winner of the interim title will become undisputed world champion. The motion was conditionally passed that the fight between No. 3 ranked Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, the 122-pound champion of another organization, will determine the official challenger.

Super featherweight: World champion Jesus Chavez of the United States is in a voluntary phase. Chavez has informed the WBC that he has signed to fight featherweight world champion Erik Morales next February.

Lightweight: World champion Floyd Mayweather of the United States is in a voluntary phase and is scheduled to fight No. 2 ranked Phillip Ndou of South Africa on November 1. The winner of that fight is committed to fight No. 1 ranked Juan Lazcano of the United States.

Super lightweight: Still in discussions.

Welterweight: World champion Ricardo Mayorga of Nicaragua is in a voluntary phase. The motion was passed for No. 1 ranked Thomas Damgaard of Denmark to fight No. 3 ranked Carlos Baldomir of Argentina to determine the official challenger.

Super welterweight: World champion Shane Mosley of the United States did not pay his sanctioning fee when he won the title and legal processes are underway to resolve the issue. The motion was passed to schedule a meeting with Mosley's representatives in Dallas in 15 days. The Board of Governors indicated that if Mosley does not pay the sanctioning fee, he will be stripped of the title. Interim world champion Francisco Castillejo of Spain is scheduled to defend the title against Fernando Vargas of the United States.

Middleweight: World champion Bernard Hopkins of the United States is in a voluntary phase and is scheduled to fight WBA champion William Joppy of the United States. The motion was passed for No. 2 ranked Cristian Sanavia of Italy to fight No. 5 ranked Jermain Taylor of the United States to determine the No. 2 rating.

Super middleweight: Still in discussions.

Light heavyweight: World champon Antonio Tarver of the United States is scheduled to fight Roy Jones Jr. of the United States in November. The motion was passed for No. 1 ranked Paul Briggs of Australia to fight No. 4 ranked Stipe Drews of Croatia to determine the official challenger.

Cruiserweight: World champion Wayne Braithwaite of Guyana is in negotiations to fight No. 1 ranked official challenger O'Neil Bell of the United States.

Heavyweight: World champion Lennox Lewis of Great Britain is in a voluntary phase. Determining the official challenger is still in discussions.