The Championships Committee of the World Boxing Association (WBA) has ordered a mandatory fight between the organization’s flyweight champion, Artem Dalakian, and the current interim-champion, Luis Concepción.

The sanctioning body sent the communication to both teams to start immediate negotiations for the fight.

In accordance with Championships Rule C.11, the champion must defend the title against the official contender within nine months from the date the title was obtained.

Dalakian’s last mandatory fight was on June 15th, 2019 and the deadline for the next one was due on March 14th, 2020. For this reason, the sanctioning body is pressing him to fight Concepción.

The WBA is also following their plan to eliminate all interim-titles.

On the other hand, WBA Rule C.13 – Bout Limitations, says that the champion cannot fight a boxer who is not the mandatory contender within sixty (60) days of the expiration of the mandatory defense period.

Based on the above, a thirty (30) day negotiation period was ordered as of August 19th, 2021, which will close on September 18th.

If both teams do not reach an agreement within the established period or one of the parties does not show the desire to negotiate, the Championships Committee may send the fight to a purse bid under the rules and conditions of the WBA.