The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee has ordered the start of negotiations between WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares and the Luke Campbell. Both teams were duly notified and have 30 days, starting July 21st, to reach an agreement or, otherwise, the fight will be called for purse bids.

Linares got his belt last September 2016 when he defeated Anthony Crolla. Since then, he has not had a mandatory fight. According to article 11 of the WBA Rules, a champion must face his mandatory opponent in a period of 9 months, time that expired on June 23rd, 2017. Campbell got the opportunity to fight for a world title after defeating Darleys Perez by TKO in the ninth round last April.