BELFAST — The winner of Anthony Cacace's WBA super featherweight title defense against Nick Ball on Dec. 19 in Belfast will be ordered to face Elnur Samedov next, under a resolution posted by the WBA outlining a convoluted title arrangement for the bout.
Cacace (25-1, 9 KO), who beat Jazza Dickens for the belt in March, had been expected to bypass his mandatory challenger for a domestic showdown with Ball (23-1-1, 13 KO). Queensberry did attempt negotiations with secondary titlist Samedov (22-1, 11 KO) for a bout in Northern Ireland, but the British Boxing Board of Control rejected the request for Samedov to compete in the United Kingdom, a decision later upheld after reviewing documentation related to the fighter's citizenship and residency. Negotiations between the promoters were subsequently suspended. Samedov was born in Azerbaijan but lives and fights out of Russia.
To resolve the impasse, the WBA will revive its "super" champion designation and move Cacace into that slot while upgrading Samedov from "regular" to world titlist. Cacace will still defend against Ball as scheduled, but the winner must then face Samedov "in neutral territory, at a venue approved by all parties involved, and on a date to be determined by the WBA Championships Committee."
The arrangement adds multiple conditions to a fight already set for Belfast, and leaves the 37-year-old Cacace facing a mandatory in a neutral venue if he retains. The WBA did not elaborate on the BBBC's documentation review, and the timeline for the ordered mandatory defense will be set by its Championships Committee.