THE World Boxing Association (WBA) has ordered WBA minimumweight champion Filipino Vic Saludar and No. 1 challenger Dominican Erick Rosa to a mandatory world title fight.
The WBA Championships Committee has given both parties 30 days to negotiate, which started on Aug. 27 and will end on Sept. 26. If both camps fail to agree in the negotiations, the fight will be put on a purse bid with Saludar getting 55 percent and Rosa getting 45 percent of the split.
Saludar won the WBA minimumweight after a split decision win over fellow Filipino Robert Paradero.
The 30-year-old Saludar is a two-time world champion. He won his first world title back in 2018 with a unanimous decision win over Ryuya Yamanaka to claim the World Boxing Organization (WBO) minimumweight belt. He successfully defended it once with a unanimous decision over Masataka Taniguchi before losing his belt to Wilfredo Mendez in 2019.
The 21-year-old Rosa is just new to the pro ranks but he immediately fought for a regional title in his first pro fight in 2020. He beat Oscar Bermudez by unanimous decision to win the World Boxing Council (WBC) Latino and WBA Fedelatin minimumweight straps. He followed it up with two title defenses against Byron Castellon and Kenny Cano, who he beat by unanimous decision and by a third round knockout, respectively.
Rosa earned his shot at the interim WBA minimumweight belt against unbeaten Ricardo Astuvicula on July 21. The Dominican prospect outclassed Astuvicula via a one-sided unanimous decision despite getting knocked down in the fourth round.
The WBA recently abolished the interim titles and made the champions into mandatory challengers, thus giving Rosa a shot at Saludar.
Saludar is 21-4 with 11 knockouts, while Pacheco is 4-0 with a knockout.