Boxing
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer 5y

Source: Nordine Oubaali vs. Rau'shee Warren for world bantamweight title

Boxing

Nordine Oubaali and Rau'shee Warren will fight for a vacant bantamweight world title and former two-division world titlist Rances Barthelemy will return from a nine-month layoff on Dec. 22, a source with knowledge of the plans told ESPN on Wednesday.

Both bouts will take place on the undercard of the Premier Boxing Champions on Fox card at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, though those bouts are not slated for the network broadcast, which is a tripleheader co-headlined by twins Jermall and Jermell Charlo in separate title bouts.

Oubaali (14-0, 11 KOs), 32, a 2008 and 2012 Olympian from France, and former bantamweight world titlist Warren (16-2, 4 KOs), 31, of Cincinnati, the only three-time American Olympic boxer, will fight for the 118-pound belt left vacant when Luis Nery was stripped in March for being overweight for a defense against Shinsuke Yamanaka.

In an opening round fight at the 2012 London Games, Oubaali defeated Warren, 19-18.

The vacant title bout has been long delayed. The title was supposed to be filled by the winner of a fight between Oubaali and Thailand's Petch Sor Chitpattana this past summer but Sor Chitpattana eventually agreed to a deal to step aside in order to allow Warren to fight fellow southpaw Oubaali for the title first.

Oubaali will be taking on the most notable opponent of his pro career and fighting outside of France for the first time since he made his professional debut in Morocco in 2014.

Warren won a majority decision against Juan Carlos Payano in June 2016 to win a bantamweight world title in a rematch of Warren's split-decision loss to Payano in their previous fight in August 2015. Warren lost the belt to Zhanat Zhakiyanov by split decision in his first defense in February 2017. Warren has won two fights in a row since, both at Barclays Center.

Barthelemy (26-1, 13 KOs), 32, who has won world titles at junior lightweight and lightweight, will face an opponent to be determined in a 10-round fight contracted at 137 pounds. Barthelemy, a Cuban defector fighting out of Las Vegas, plans to return to the 135-pound division eventually.

In May 2005, Barthelemy moved up to junior welterweight and won a highly controversial decision over Kiryl Relikh in a world title elimination fight. A rematch was ordered, and when they met for the second time in March, it was for a vacant belt, and Relikh won a clear unanimous decision.

In another undercard bout, junior middleweight Brandon Quarles (20-4-1, 10 KOs), 32, of Alexandria, Virginia, will face Todd Manuel (17-16-1, 5 KOs), 26, of Rayne, Louisiana, in an eight- or 10-round bout. Quarles and Manuel have each won their past two fights.

The Fox tripleheader will be headlined by interim middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo defending his belt against Willie Monroe Jr., with Jermell Charlo defending his junior middleweight world title against Tony Harrison in the co-feature. Heavyweight contender Dominic Breazeale will face Carlos Negron in the scheduled 10-round opening fight on the telecast.

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