So long and good riddance to that Berlanga fight, apparently. Fernando Sabatini reports that the WBA has officially elevated former interim super middleweight champion Jose Armando Resendiz to replace the departing Terence Crawford, ordering “Toro” to take on mandatory challenger Bektemir Melikuziev in the process.
Resendiz (16-2, 11 KO), a longtime middleweight whose best prior victory came over the shell of Jarrett Hurd, derailed PBC’s long-percolating plan to pit Caleb Plant against Jermall Charlo
by outfoxing and overpowering “Sweethands” for the belt in May. He can now officially call himself a world champion, and while it’s easy to write him off as a fluke, it’s wroth remembering he’s just 26 and less than 20 fights into his pro career. Every reason to believe he’s a late bloomer.
“Bek the Bully” (16-1, 10 KO) has fallen a bit short of expectations, but he remains a skilled, powerful, and fan-friendly fighter when he’s on his game. After coming in heavy in an underwhelming split decision over David Stevens two Novembers ago, he showed his grit with a last-round knockdown of Darrius Fulghum to seal the deal in a May eliminator.
Neither of these guys are going to be challenging for the undisputed title anytime soon, but it’s a well-matched scrap with Fight of the Year of the Week potential. I’m here for it.
