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But OQBP operations manager Chris Malunga said the offer from the WIBA for Catherine, who is also the African Boxing Union (ABU) bantamweight champion, to fight reigning champion Rodriguez was welcome although it might require a promoter coming up to stage the fight.
Malunga said in an interview at the weekend in Lusaka that his boxing stable was ready to take up the offer once a promoter from came forward to stage the fight.
“Honestly, this is an attractive offer but there are a few things that have to be looked at before we take it up. WIBA, we know, is a highly respectable organisation but we chose a different road-map and we can’t just abandon it today. We shall look at the offer and then look at our road-map and see where the two can meet,” Malunga said.
WIBA President Ryan Wissow on Saturday said that his organisation had monitored the progress made by Catherine and was ready to offer her a title fight mid-next year against newly crowned and undefeated champion Rodriguez of Chile, who in December would be defending her title for the first time.
Malunga said some of the issues that needed to be looked into included how easily the money can be found to put up such a promotion which has just come and thus making OQBP abandon a route it chose years ago to challenge for the World Boxing Council (WBC) title.
“Putting up a boxing promotion requires a lot of money and commitment but if there is a promoter anywhere in the world with money to stage the title fight, then my team would consider going for the belt albeit keeping the WBC ambitions alive,” Malunga said.
Catherine on September 28 defeated Ugandan Toma Hawa-Babirye via an eighth round technical knock-out to claim the ABU title which puts her in line to challenge for the WBC International title next year and later the WBC proper bantamweight title.
