UPDATE: Charlie Edwards to reportedly vacate flyweight title

Just days ahead of the deadline to put together a rematch against Julio Cesar Martinez, WBC flyweight champion Charlie Edwards will reportedly vacate his title. Should he go through with it, Martinez will fight for the vacant belt, presumably against #2-ranked former champion Cristofer Rosales.

Martinez (14-1, 11 KO) earned a surprise shot at Edwards (15-1, 6 KO) by folding Andrew Selby with a body shot back in March. The mandated bout came together on the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Luke Campbell undercard, where Martinez appeared to have Edwards dead to rights with a third-round onslaught. After Edwards took a knee, however, Martinez ripped him with a body shot while he was down, leaving him unable to continue and granting him the knockout victory.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman quickly intervened, changing the result to a no contest and returning the title to Edwards. He ordered them to begin negotiations for an immediate rematch with a deadline of October 4th and, well, here we are.

Rosales (29-4, 20 KO) authored a major upset last year by knocking out an overweight Daigo Higa for the WBC belt, then battered Irish Olympian Paddy Barnes in his first defense. He proceeded to lose the belt to Edwards and didn’t return to action until last August, when he knocked out Nicaraguan countryman Eliecer Quezada in seven.

Higa, by the way, might finally be back in action before year’s end.

Honestly, I’m cool with this if it means we get Martinez-Rosales. That’ll be fireworks.

UPDATE: Edwards has officially vacated, citing difficulties with making the 112-pound limit.