Erislandy Lara & Danny Garcia Sanctioned By The WBA

The World Boxing Association has officially confirmed and sanctioned that the organisation’s world middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17KOs) can make a voluntary title defence against former unified welterweight world champion Danny Garcia (37-3, 21KOs). The request to sanction the voluntary contest between Lara & Garcia came directly from TGB Promotions, who are set to promote the contest scheduled for the 5th of August. The current WBA mandatory challenger, Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19KOs), was consulted by the WBA and the parties involved and ultimately gave the green light to the contest taking place and stepping aside. The WBA or TGB has yet to confirm a venue or location at the time of publication. Lara was elevated to the champions table after Gennady Golovkin vacated the WBA’s “Super” world title after deciding not to face Lara and not fulfil his mandatory obligations. Lara was previously the organisation’s “regular” title holder, which he claimed whilst the title was vacant against Thomas LaManna in May 2021. Lara would secure a first-round knockout before defending the strap for the first time in May last year. Lara would face Gary O’Sullivan and make a successful defence with an eighth-round stoppage of the Irishman. March of 2023 would then see Lara identified as the sole WBA world champion at middleweight following Golovkin’s vacation of the WBA “super” title. It is also noted that the WBA announced that the middleweight division would only have one WBA world title moving forward. A former WBA & WBC world welterweight champion, Garcia will be stepping up to the middleweight division for the first time as a professional. Garcia was last in action in July of 2022 with a majority decision win against Jose Benevidez Jr. WBA statement in full: “The World Boxing Association (WBA), through its Championships Committee, granted a special permit to middleweight champion Erislandy Lara to fight Danny Garcia on the 5th of August. “The company TGB Promotions sent the request to the entity, which was studied in depth to determine the most appropriate decision. Team Zerafa was consulted and after arduous negotiations it was possible to reach an agreement between both parties. “According to the WBA rules in section C.16, it states that the body may modify the periods of mandatory defenses for good cause, either in response to a request for a Special Permit, or on its own initiative. On the other hand, rule C.46.a states that the WBA may modify or suspend the strict application of these rules when the WBA deems it justified in its sole discretion to accommodate special circumstances. The rules also state that the agency may require conditions for granting a permit. “In this case, the committee decided to grant the request to the Lara team as long as they comply with all championship rules. On the other hand, the winner between Lara and Garcia, or Lara should the fight end in a draw, is obligated to fight Zerafa within 120 days after their bout. “In the case of Zerafa, he may make an optional fight against a body-approved contender while awaiting a world title fight in his mandatory challenger’s position.”