Britain’s Luke Campbell (20-3) will face Dominican Republic’s Javier Fortuna (35-2-1) for the vacant WBC lightweight championship of the world after Devin Haney (24-0) had to undergo shoulder surgery and he was made ‘Champion in recess’ by the World Boxing Council.
🏥 Devin Haney following his recent shoulder operation: pic.twitter.com/bPofO1FmDe
— All Of The Belts 🥊 (@AllOfTheBelts) December 12, 2019
The 21-year-old Haney isn’t being stripped of the title, but he’s not the champion anymore. Whenever he’s ready to go he’ll face the titleholder.
#BreakingNews Javier Fortuna gana a Sharif Bogere por decisión unánime 96-93.
¡Gana el Abejón , Gana La Romana! pic.twitter.com/Lx9dUrcuMb
— Operación Deportiva. (@OperacionDR) February 10, 2019
The 30-year-old Fortuna had to fight with Haney, but the American got injured in his last clash against Alfredo Santiago on November 9. Luke Campbell is getting a title shot because he was number 2 in the WBC lightweight rankings. He will be fighting for a world title for the third time in his career.
2012 Olympic gold medalist Campbell lost his last bout against Vasyl Lomachenko. The pair fought in August for three of the four major belts in the division, but Loma was too dominant and too quick for the Brit. The previous one was back in 2017 when Jorge Linares defeated him and defended his WBA strap.
There is still no information on the date or the venue of the bout between Campbell and Fortuna.