Sandor Martin turns down final eliminator, Ohara Davies vs Shakhram Giyasov on deck

To recap the mess the WBA made at 140 pounds:

• Josh Taylor is ordered to defend his title against Alberto Puello, then gets stripped when he declines.
• Rather than order Puello to face no. 2 Ismael Barroso, the WBA invites their top six contenders to plead their cases.
• Puello is ordered to face Batyr Akhmedov with the caveat that the winner fight Barroso. That fight goes down on next weekend’s Broner vs Figueroa show.
• Sandor Martin and Ohara Davies are ordered to fight in an eliminator for next crack after Barroso.

The newest development, which Dan Rafael revealed yesterday, is that Martin (40-2, 13 KO) has withdrawn from the Davies (24-2, 17 KO) fight ahead of tomorrow’s purse bid. The pair are currently going at it on Twitter for those who enjoy grown men having virtual slap fights.

Next in the rankings would be Regis Prograis, but since he’s gearing up to fight Jose Zepeda for the WBC belt, Shakhram Giyasov (13-0, 9 KO) will get the offer next. Solid matchup, honestly, definitely the Uzbek’s toughest fight to date.

I do want to point out something funny, though. When Akhmedov got the call to face Puello, he was ranked sixth. With the latest rankings update, he magically got pushed up to second so the WBA can claim the top two fighters are competing for the belt.