Posted on 01/11/2022
By: Hans Themistode
Chris Colbert smiled from ear to ear following his lopsided unanimous decision win over Jezzrel Corrales in 2020. Not only did the win allow the Brooklyn, New York, native to maintain his undefeated record but more than anything, Colbert was awarded the WBA interim super featherweight title.
Although Colbert would go on to defend his secondary trinket two additional times, he was ultimately stripped of his title due to the WBA sanctioning body attempting to put an end to the proliferation of world titles.
As a result, Colbert became the mandatory challenger to full titleholder Roger Gutierrez. Now, in a little over a month, Colbert will attempt to begin his first official world title reign. The two will lock horns on February 26th, at a yet-to-be-determined location.
Gutierrez, 26, endured a difficult stretch in 2018, losing back-to-back fights, the latter came via fourth-round stoppage. Since then, however, Gutierrez has reeled off seven consecutive victories, including back-to-back wins over Rene Alvarado.
If the braggadocios Colbert is successful in dethroning Gutierrez, he could set his sights on a unification bout against WBO titlist Shakur Stevenson. The two have spent the past several months going back and forth over social media with Stevenson urging his young rival to take care of business against Gutierrez and immediately look to unify against him.
With both fighters associated with different promotional brands, Colbert with Premier Boxing Champions and Stevenson with Top Rank, it’s yet to be determined whether or not a showdown between them will come to fruition.
Before that bridge can be crossed, however, Colbert will look to rip away Gutierrez’s world title on the 26th of February.