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Promoter Lewkowicz Petitions WBC To Order Immediate
Javier Fortuna vs. Devin Haney Fight
This afternoon, Sampson Lewkowicz, promoter of two-time
world champion and WBC #2 lightweight contender Javier “El
Abejon” Fortuna (36-2-1, 25 KOs), is submitting a formal
request to the WBC for them to order negotiations to begin
immediately for Fortuna to face current WBC Lightweight
Champion Devin Haney (25-0, 15 KOs).
In his request, Lewkowicz cites the extended series of
cancelled and declined fights for his top-rated fighter:
After fighting his way to the #1 spot in the WBC ratings
last November, Fortuna was supposed to face England’s Luke
Campbell in April of this year for the vacant lightweight
championship after champion Haney was sidelined by shoulder
injury and named a “champion in recess.” However, the
COVID-19 pandemic prevented the fight from happening and
gave Haney adequate time to recover.
The WBC then reinstated Haney as champion and granted him a
voluntary defense. They further mandated that Fortuna and
Campbell meet for the WBC interim lightweight championship
and then face the winner of Haney’s voluntary defense
immediately after. That arrangement fell through though,
when Campbell’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, announced he was
planning to step over #1 contender Fortuna to make a fight
between Haney and #2 contender Campbell.
With Fortuna now looking for a new opponent, representatives
from Golden Boy Promotions offered him a fight against WBC
#3-ranked Ryan Garcia, which Fortuna agreed to without
hesitation, only to be later notified that “Kingry” didn’t
want to face Fortuna.
Lewkowicz then arranged for Fortuna to face Jorge Linares
(47-5, 29 KOs), the WBC #5 contender and a former
featherweight, super featherweight and lightweight world
champion for the WBC Diamond Belt in August. Unfortunately,
Linares announced he had COVID-19 a couple weeks before the
fight and it was also cancelled.
Since then, Haney has gone on to successfully make his
voluntary defense against former champion Yuriorkis Gamboa
in November and Ryan Garcia is set to face Luke Campbell in
January of next year.
Fortuna, now the WBC #2 contender after the insertion of
former champ Vasyl Lomachenko into the #1 spot, was finally
able to find someone to fight and looked sensational this
past weekend while stopping tough Mexican Antonio Lozada
Torres in six rounds.
Given these circumstances, Team Fortuna believes they are
justified in requesting the WBC to grant this request for an
immediate Fortuna vs. Haney fight. Fortuna has been a #1 or
#2 contender for over a year while lower-rated contenders
have secured fights against each other. With Lomachenko tied
up looking for a rematch against Teofimo Lopez, the Fortuna
vs. Haney fight is a worthy matchup between champion and
available top contender.
“Through his entire career, Javier Fortuna has fought anyone
willing to fight,” said Lewkowicz. “He looked sensational
beating Lozada on Saturday and has been a top contender for
an exceptionally long time. He deserves an immediate shot at
Devin Haney’s championship. I am sure the WBC will agree
that the time has come for his long-awaited title challenge.
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