Four separate bantamweight title fights all remain in limbo but plans are officially in play to establish at least one new mandatory challenger.

BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the WBC has approved a final title eliminator between Nawaphon Kaikanha (Sor Rungvisai) and former interim titlist and full title challenger Reymart Gaballo (25-1, 21KOs). The bout was previously identified during the WBC annual convention last November as a semifinal eliminator but since upgraded when Naoya Inoue (24-0, 21KOs) abdicated his undisputed bantamweight championship reign in January.

Surachart Phisitvuthinun, Kaikanha’s promoter and head of Nakhon Luang (NKL) Promotion, confirmed the development on Friday ahead of their scheduled February 25 show at Tupatemee Air Force Stadium in Pathum Thani, Thailand. Kaikanha (57-2-1, 47KOs) will face countryman Attanon Kunlawong (18-9-1, 14KOs) in a scheduled six-round bout well above the bantamweight limit.

It will mark the second confidence-restoring bout of Kaikanha since a decisive twelve-round defeat to Australia’s Jason Moloney in their WBC bantamweight title eliminator last October 16 in Melbourne, Australia.

Moloney won by scores of 118-110, 1118-110 and 119-109 to become the WBC mandatory challenger. However, he will now go the WBO route after promoter Top Rank declined to move forward with his ordered vacant title fight versus former four-division champ Nonito Donaire.

The development leaves a scenario where the WBC now has to find the next highest-ranked available contender to face Donaire, which—as previously reported by Boxing Scene—will likely be Tijuana’s Alexandro Santiago (27-3-5, 14KOs).

Kaikanha and Gaballo are ranked number-three and number-four, respectively, though clearly not next in line as they will instead face each other in a bid to become mandatory challenger. NKL revealed the plan from there is for Kaikanha and Philippines’ Gaballo—a 26-year-old contender from General Santos City, Philippines—to meet on a U.S. show in May, which would likely put the fight on the undercard of a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) event. Gaballo’s last three U.S. appearances have all come on PBC shows. The alliance included a December 2020 interim WBC bantamweight title win over former IBF champ Emmanuel Rodriguez and a fourth-round knockout loss to Donaire in their December 2021 WBC title fight.  

Gaballo has since rebounded with a second-round knockout of countryman Ricardo Sueno last October 29 in his General Santos City hometown.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox