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As it’s being announced by the WBC, the sanctioning body has approved a request to put their interim title on the line for the July 9 fight between lightweights Joseph Diaz and Javier Fortuna, set to take place in Los Angeles.
The WBC essentially outline how Fortuna reached their number one contender position back in 2019 but was never able to get his shot at the world title or the interim title because of various fights never coming off on top of the whole COVID shutdown. Ultimately the sanctioning body reason that because Fortuna never got his opportunity, now is as good of a time as any.
Many people will argue that there’s really no need for an interim champion when there’s currently an active world champion — in this case Devin Haney who will be taking on Jorge Linares next — and those people wouldn’t be wrong. But it’s a chance for the WBC to adorn another belt on another fighter and take a hefty check for the pleasure.
The winner of Diaz-Fortuna will be ordered to get a shot at the world title from the Haney-Linares winner.