The WBA Championships Committee has granted a period of 15 days to the teams of featherweight “super” champion Leo Santa Cruz and “regular” featherweight champion Leigh Wood to reach an agreement and submit the contracts to the organization; otherwise, the fight will be up for bidding on December 12 in Orlando during the WBA’s Centennial Convention. The fight is part of the plan to reduce world titles and that seeks to leave the 126 lbs. with only one champion.
Last April 6, the WBA sent an official letter ordering the fight between Santa Cruz and Wood. On July 11, TGB Promotions requested special permission for Santa Cruz to face Rey Vargas in unification, which was denied in order to order an auction between the Mexican and Wood.
Then, on August 12, TGB and Matchroom informed the WBA that they had reached an agreement and the purse bid was suspended. But on the 22nd of that same month they reported that they had an agreement for Santa Cruz to fight Vargas and Wood to fight Mauricio Lara, with the winners of both fights facing each other 120 days later.
The WBA gave the go-ahead to that agreement but on September 13 learned from the media that Wood suffered an injury and could not make the fight against Lara. The WBA requested the medical report to Wood’s team.
This report arrived on October 20, signed by Dr. Usman Rana, who said that the Briton should refrain from strenuous work with his left arm for a period of 4 to 6 weeks to ensure a full recovery and avoid a relapse of the injury.
That 6-week period will expire December 1, so the WBA Championships Committee carried out its analysis and considered that it is now time to restart the Santa Cruz-Wood negotiations. The 15-day period will be extended until December 7 and if there is no agreement by that time, the purse bid will be held at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, in the middle of the convention.
I have the feeling Naoya Inoue will jump to 126, because at 122 there are no marquee fights in there after Murodjon Akhmadaliev, is a very poor division at this moment. Now lket have look at 126: Santa Cruz, Rey Vargas, Wood, Muricio Lara, Isaac Dogboe, Brandon Figueroa, Robelsy Ramirez, Michael Conlan, Kiko Martinez, Josh Warrington, Mark Magsayo, Gary Russell Jr, Stephen Fulton and some other good fighters, being all of them smaller than Jamie Mcdonnell who didn’t last nor even a round against Inoue, but if Inoue jump to 126 we could see him defeated for the first time
If anyone goes from 118 to 126 Burucho and he stays, I think someone up there definitely beats him. I actually think, presuming he beats Butler, Inoue might stick at 118 to fight Ioka, if he beats Franco. That’s a huge fight in Japan, two of their greatest ever. And I heard Fulton was going up to rematch Figueroa for the interim WBC because Vargas is going up for the WBC at 130, but you’d still have Akhmadaliev as a unified champion. I think Inoue beats him in a close fight but all of those guys you listed at 126 – SOMEONE beats him. I don’t think anyone 130 and down now that Stevenson’s gone, goes through THAT undefeated.
I just don’t think LSC and Wood really want to fight each other. And I still think it’s unfair as hell that the purse split has to be LSC 75% to Wood’s 25%. Santa Cruz hasn’t fought at 126 in almost four years. They should have stripped him.
Wood has been the underdog in every champ fight hes been in and came out a winner. He dont talk sh1t and doesn’t show of bling like LSC.
Can he win this fight? For sure he has a hugh punch on him and i myself reckon he can KO Santa Cruz in 2! Then he can set himself up to fight Tank.
Do you have the desire to see Wood under a double- decker bus?