WBC Leaves Interim Champion Jadier Herrera Out of Vacant Title Fight

Interim champion left outside vacant lightweight title fight ordered between William Zepeda and Lamont Roach

The decision by the World Boxing Council to move forward with a vacant lightweight title fight without involving interim champion Jadier Herrera stands out as an unusual step in the sanctioning body’s title process.

The issue surfaced after the WBC stripped Shakur Stevenson of the belt, creating a vacancy at the top of the division. Interim champions are often elevated to full champion when a title becomes vacant or placed directly into the bout that determines the new titleholder. Neither outcome applied here, leaving Herrera outside the immediate championship fight despite holding the interim belt.

Herrera, a 23-year-old Cuban southpaw based in Dubai, captured the interim title in January when he stopped Ricardo Nunez in the eighth round in Germany. The victory moved his unbeaten run to 18 fights with 16 knockouts and appeared to place him on a clear route toward the full title.

WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman explained that several promoters submitted proposals to stage a vacant championship fight. One suggestion involved Herrera facing England’s Sam Noakes, another Queensberry Promotions fighter ranked #5 by the WBC lightweight rankings.

Sam Noakes was one of the names presented in a proposal for the vacant title fight. The English contender fought Abdullah Mason last November in Riyadh for the vacant World Boxing Organization lightweight title and lost a twelve-round decision.

Despite that defeat, Noakes’ name was among those presented as an option to contest the newly vacant WBC belt.

The World Boxing Council approved a bout between the #1 and #2 ranked contenders, Zepeda and Roach, for the vacant WBC lightweight title.

According to Sulaiman, the winner of that fight would later meet Herrera or the winner of a future interim title defense.

That arrangement leaves the interim champion Jadier waiting while a new titleholder is crowned through a different bout. Mexico’s William Zepeda remains among the leading contenders in the division after previously holding interim status before losing a wide decision to Stevenson last summer in Queens.

Interim belts are typically used to keep divisions moving when a champion cannot defend the title. When the belt later becomes vacant, the interim titleholder is usually placed directly into the championship fight. Leaving Herrera outside that process is uncommon, and it places his title position in an uncertain spot while the WBC moves ahead with another route to crown a champion.

That kind of outcome tends to leave observers wondering whether an interim belt still has a clear purpose once the full title becomes available.