A day after a lackluster fight of 20 somethings, WBA #2 heavyweight and 3-time title challenger, “Fast” Fres Oquendo turned 45 years old Sunday. Oquendo has been dormant nearly four years since losing a controversial decision to Ruslan Chagaev back in July of 2014. Subsequently, more malaise followed forcing him by no choice of his own to stay inactive with a federal lawsuit Oquendo’s team won, a retirement by Chagaev, a failed WBA tournament, a surgery, and 2 failed drug tests by Oquendo opponents having kept the now 45-year-old out of the ring. However, that may be over since his team won a $600,000 purse bid against Team Charr on Feb 9th, 2018 in Toronto.
Just to put things in perspective Oquendo has fought on Mike Tyson’s undercard and guys like Chris Byrd, Oliver McCall, James Toney, Bert Cooper, Evander Holyfield as well as many others. Oquendo has more experience than both the current Heavyweight champions combined. With 320 professional rounds as a heavyweight nobody even comes close. He has never been on his back or knocked out. When Oquendo fights for the WBA Regular Championship he will be the only 45-year-old to fight for a championship along with George Foreman and Bernard Hopkins.
If he wins this is where he will be in the club of “old timers”. Hopkins won at 46 years, 4 months, 6 days, while Foreman was 45 years, 10 months. After the bout, ESPN columnist Dan Rafael stated: “Bernard Hopkins already had lived several boxing lifetimes, but he was born yet again in Saturday’s decision over Jean Pascal, becoming the oldest champion in history.”
“I may become “Arthritic” Fres Oquendo and I may even receive my 1st social security check before I get that title but I’m gonna get it” Oquendo joked about turning 45 and competing against guys who could be young enough to be his son.
When asked about his current situation with the fight scheduled this spring for the WBA Regular title and the chance for the winner to face Joshua, his promoter and longtime friend Tom Tsatas said “Team Charr is scared. They’re petrified that they will come here to Chicago and Fres will end the career of Manuel Charr. Why would you want to go back to Germany bloodied, beaten and beltless. You have GGG and now we have BBB in Charr.”
Tsatas went on to say that Pat English, a well-known boxing litigator, has been putting forward all kinds of stumbling blocks but that they are prepared to fight this all the way by “any means necessary” to get Charr stripped if he doesn’t come fight in Chicago.
“We won the WBA purse bid fair and square. Simple. If you don’t abide by your own rules, then don’t even have rules nor purse bids. But then again this is boxing and anything goes,” Tsatas ended.