The WBA has ordered a title bout between French WBA ‘super’ cruiserweight champion Arsen Goulamirian and Cuban contender Yuniel Dorticos. Goulamirian, who last defended his title in November 2022, will be defending his WBA title for the first time since capturing it in 2019.
Coincidentally, both cruiserweights are known for their inactivity, with Arsen Goulamirian (27-0, 18 KO’s) having been out of the ring for nearly three years between 2019 and 2022 before facing Russian contender Alexey Egorov (12-1, 8 KO’s) in November of 2022.
Yuniel Dorticos (26-2, 24 KO’s) himself is known for his inactivity, having fought only once a year since 2019 and taking over a year’s time to return to the ring on several occasions for roughly three years.
Dorticos, 37, is best known for his stint as the IBF cruiserweight champion when he captured the then-vacant title in 2019 by defeating American contender Andrew Tabiti (20-1, 16 KO’s). Unfortunately, in his very next match against Mairis Briedis (28-2, 20 KO’s) in September 2020, he lost his world title to the Latvian fighter after suffering a majority decision loss.
Before he became the IBF champion, Dorticos had been the WBA interim champion and was eventually promoted to WBA champion in 2017, making him a two-time champion. Dorticos defended the title once before Russian fighter Murat Gassiev (30-2, 23 KO’s) ended his short reign in 2018 with a technical knockout (TKO) victory.
Facing an opponent with a wealth of experience at the world level, 36-year-old Goulamirian will be up against his toughest competitor yet. Though he has had tough match-ups before, Dorticos will be the first former world champion he will face in the division. A win over Dorticos will be vital to Goulamirian’s career, as he has yet to be fully acknowledged as a legitimate world champion outside of his home country of France.
For Dorticos, this will be the third time he stands a chance to become a world champion, and with the existence of three other champions in the division, the Cuban will have plenty of opportunities to achieve new accomplishments if he comes out on top against Goulamirian and seeks to unify against the division’s other champions.
Of course, all of this depends on how the negotiations between Dorticos and Goulamirian go, as the WBA has mandated a negotiation period of 30 days starting from October 10th. If these talks fail, it will culminate in a purse bid.
