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Abass Baraou has been upgraded to full world champion by the World Boxing Association (WBA) at 154lbs, strengthening his calls for a fight with Conor Benn.
The German super welterweight won the interim version of the belt back in August, defeating Yoenis Tellez. Following Terence Crawford’s victory over Canelo Alvarez to become undisputed at super middleweight, the WBA have promoted Baraou to full champion, replacing ‘Bud’ as their title holder at 154lbs.
Baraou appears keen to immediately put his new world title on the line against a big name, namedropping Benn and Josh Kelly recently.
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Speaking at the start of September, Baraou was confident he would be named world champion. He explained: “I’m very blessed to be in this position now. For a long time, I was chasing fights, now the big fights are easy to make. I would be happy to be a world champion soon, and I think I will be in a good position.
“Also being out of contract, the future is exciting and I’m looking forward to the biggest fight, and the biggest night of my career, claiming all the belts.
“Fighting a guy like that [Conor Benn] would be a big statement. Josh Kelly, if he’s active, show me it’s a real challenge, and I’m looking forward to great challenges.”
Benn’s next fight will take place at 160lbs as he is gearing up for a middleweight rematch with foe Chris Eubank Jr. However, Benn is still ranked by various sanctioning bodies at welterweight, with the Briton targeting a clash with WBC champion Mario Barrios for his first fight back at his old weight after facing Eubank Jr in November.
It remains to be seen if Baraou’s new-found champion status is enough to entice Benn into arranging a bout.
The WBA’s title picture at 154lbs has been slightly confusing in recent years. Crawford earned the full belt by defeating Israil Madrimov in 2024, but despite Bud’s reign as champion, Jermell Charlo has been described as the WBA’s champion in recess.
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Charlo has not fought since losing to Canelo in 2023 when he moved up from super welterweight to super middleweight, with his last bout at 154lbs staged in 2022. However, the WBA have named the American as mandatory challenger, and ordered Baraou to make his first defence against the former undisputed super welterweight champion.
Again, Baraou appeared aware of this eventuality when speaking about the topic earlier this month. He shared: “Charlo is next, he’s a big name, it’s a great challenge for me. Xander Zayas came into the ring right after [the fight with Tellez], there’s Fundora, this division is stacked.”
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