Manyo Plange Lartey secures WBA Eliminator

Jesse Manyo Plange former Captain of the National Amateur Boxing Team, the Black Bombers, has been handed an opportunity to fight in a World Boxing Association (WBA) Bantamweight Eliminator against Melvin Lopez in July.

The fight fixed for the United States of America (USA) would see Manyo Plange having an opportunity to fight for the world title should he win.

This would be against Naoya Inoue, the Japanese pugilist who also holds the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title.

The WBA via a letter issued to the promoters of Plange approved their request to take on Melvin Lopez.

It said “the Championship Committee acknowledges receipt of your request to approve the WBA Bantamweight Final Eliminator fight between Manyo Plange and Melvin Lopez to be held in July 2021 in USA.

“Please consider this letter as a tentative sanction approval of the Plange and Lopez for WBA Bantamweight Final Eliminator for the Super Championship of the division,” The letter read.

Plange (21-0-1, 17 KOs) 31, ranked number two by the WBA earlier was scheduled to take on Guillermo Rigondeaux but the latter declined to make a date with John Riel Casimero for a WBO and WBA secondary title unification fight in August.

Plange aka ‘The Black Flash’ would engage veteran Raymond Commey popularly known as “Chorkor Banku” on May 1, in a West Africa Boxing Union (WABU) Bantamweight Contest over eight rounds at the Lebanon House in Accra as a warm up fight.