WBC Reverses Prior Ruling, Restores Sandoval vs Yafai Order

The WBC has reinstated its original order for a flyweight title consolidation bout between Ricardo Sandoval and Galal Yafai, according to BoxingScene.

Sandoval was lining up a March 15 bout in Yokohama against WBO titleholder Anthony Olascuaga. That contest would have produced a clear leader at 112 pounds, settled inside the ring. Instead, the WBC reopened an order it first issued last August, paused, then revived once it suited the calendar. The result is familiar. Progress stalls. Leverage shifts. Fighters wait.

The timing is not accidental. Sandoval has held the WBC belt since stopping Kenshiro Teraji in Japan last July and has not boxed since. Yafai, meanwhile, regained his interim status after the WBC wiped away his June loss to Francisco Rodriguez following a positive test for heptaminol. While the British Boxing Board of Control continues its own review, the WBC moved ahead on its own terms and restored Yafai’s position.

That ruling made a consolidation easier to justify on paper, even if it undercut a unification already being discussed. The WBC now gets a single champion under its banner without waiting on another organization or risking a result it does not control.

Sandoval holds both the WBC and WBA titles. His position should give him freedom. Instead, it has left him boxed in. The Olascuaga fight offered momentum. The Yafai fight offers obligation. Golden Boy Promotions must now negotiate with Matchroom Boxing or prepare for a purse bid, with little room to explore alternatives.

Sandoval’s inactivity stretches deeper into the year, and his strongest win sits further in the rearview. This is how champions drift without losing belts. Not beaten. Just stalled. Yafai benefits most. His path back into title contention has been cleared without needing resolution on the UK side. Olascuaga benefits least. He loses a unification and is left searching for another meaningful assignment in a thin weight class where top options vanish quickly.

The WBC solves its own alignment by enforcing the order. What it does not solve is the sport’s need for clarity at the top. One belt gets tidied up. A better fight gets delayed. That trade off tells you exactly whose priorities were served.

Will Arons is a veteran boxing journalist with more than a decade of experience covering the global fight landscape. As a contributor to Boxing247.com, he provides comprehensive reporting on major bouts, championship developments, and emerging prospects shaping the sport today. His work spans news coverage, fight results, and analytical features grounded in accuracy, sourcing, and long-standing industry knowledge. Arons’ clear, straightforward reporting style keeps readers informed on boxing’s key storylines and delivers dependable insight into the sport’s most significant events and fighters.

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