N’Dam N’Jikam’s promoter explains allegedly unfair WBA title dealings
There is civil war brewing among top middleweights due to decisions made by the World Boxing Association (WBA).
While many expected a battle for the vacant WBA “regular” title between WBA interim champion Gennady Golovkin and Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (WBA No.2), the WBA recently announced Hassan N’Dam would take on Avtandil Khurtsidze (WBA No.3) for the title. The announcement made Golovkin’s camp furious, who contended that they automatically ought to have received a title shot.
Boxingscene.com recently contacted the promoter of Hassan N’Dam, Sebastian Acaries, for more information and his point of view on the matter.
"The WBA had designated the German Felix Sturm as the "super champion" so the WBA's “regular” title was vacant,” said Acaries. “Consequently two co-challengers were nominated to contest the latter title: Gennady Golovkin and Anthony Mundine, following an auction held for this fight, Team Golovkin won the scholarship offers," Acaries clarified for BoxingScene.com.
"However, strangely, Mundine has turned down the offer, so the WBA has designated my boxer [N’Dam] as the new co-challenger. Soon thereafter I was contacted by Team Golovkin, who made me an offer, but it did not suit me. Therefore, according to the rules of the WBA, a date for a purse bid was required. Nevertheless, given the impatience of Golovkin's agents, the WBA gave them an interim championship."
To clarify, Golovkin took on Frankie Nunez in August for the interim belt. He defeated him in the first round.
Acaries contends that around the same time he contacted the WBA to be given permission for organizing a bout between N’Dam and Khurtsidze for the “regular” WBA title. An application was accepted by the WBA, and he then went into discussions with Team Khurtsidze, who were happy to agree to his terms. The fight was scheduled for 30 October.
Before an agreement was reached between N’Dam and Khurtsidze, the WBA ordered that the winner of the bout between Gennady Golovkin and Milton Nunez, for the WBA “regular” title, would have to defend against N’Dam within 90 days. In other words, Golovkin thought he'd have the right to fight N'Dam.
But due to an agreement being reached by N’Dam and Khurtsidze, it appears that the WBA is no longer honouring the earlier stipulation of a fight for Golovkin and N’Dam within 90 days.
Nevertheless, Golovkin’s team has attempted to contact Acaries but he has refused to instigation discussions of any sort due to the fact that his fighter is already reserved for an upcoming bout.
"Indeed, representatives of Golovkin tried to contact me to return to the stage of negotiations and even made me an offer. But as I've already said, I had finalized an agreement with Team Khurtsidze since July,” Acaries said. “It made sense not to cancel the fight in order to meet the demands of Team Golovkin.”
It is debatable whether Golovkin’s team was treated unfairly in the series of events. As Acaries explains it, Golovkin’s team wasn’t willing to iron out a legitimate deal with N’Dam or patiently await a purse bid before scheduling another fight for the interim title, though they thought they'd still get to fight N'Dam for the regular title even after taking the interim belt.
If that’s true, it does seem fair that Golovkin would have to wait to challenge the “regular” WBA champion as oppose to fight in a bout for the title, since his team determined to take their chances and win the interim belt instead for the time being. It would seem unfair to allow Golovkin to participate in both an interim bout and a “regular” title belt considering other top contenders for a title.
Golovkin’s side has expressed that they are being snubbed by the WBA, but in the long run it isn’t as if Golovkin will be kept outside of a title shot. Everyone in the division knows he is the top fighter, the guy who could probably even take out Felix Sturm, so he’s bound to get his chance if he keeps winning.
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