Former European super welterweight champion Sergio Garcia has officially vacated his title ahead of a planned summer clash with Sebastian Fundora, and as a result, the EBU has ordered fellow Spaniard Kerman Lejarraga to face unbeaten Frenchman Dylan Charrat for the belt. The pair have until June 9th to negotiate.
Lejarraga (32-2, 25 KO) has won four straight since his second loss to David Avanesyan, though the going hasn’t always been smooth. His most notable victim in that span was a faded Tyrone Nurse, and he needed a questionable comeback stoppage to defeat Jez Smith in his most recent effort after hitting the deck twice.
Charrat (20-0-1, 6 KO) hasn’t fought since his 2019 campaign saw him beat Spadafora-slayer Johan Perez and the rusted-out remains of Dmitry Mikhaylenko. He’d previously drawn with and subsequently beaten countryman Howard Cospolite in bids for the EBU European Union title.
This is the kind of fight Lejarraga needs to win if he wants to make another run on the world stage. Let’s see if he can come up big.