By Team Oquendo
A day after a lackluster fight of 20 somethings, another top heavyweight and 3 time title challenger, "Fast" Fres Oquendo turns 45 years old today. Oquendo has been dormant nearly four years since losing a controversial decision to Ruslan Chagaev back in July of 2014.
Subsequently more malaise followed forcing him by no choice of his own to stay inactive with a federal lawsuit Oquendo's team won, a retirement by Chagaev, a failed WBA tournament, a surgery, and 2 failed drug tests by Oquendo opponents having kept the now 45 year old out of the ring.
However that may be over since his team won a $600,000 purse bid against Team Charr on Feb 9th 2018 in Toronto.
Just to put things in perspective Oquendo has fought on Mike Tyson's undercard and guy's like Chris Byrd, Oliver McCall, James Toney, Bert Cooper, Evander Holyfield as well as many others. Oquendo has more experience than both the current Heavyweight champions combined. With 320 professional rounds as a heavyweight nobody even comes close. He has never been on his back or knocked out.
When asked about his current situation with the fight scheduled this spring for the WBA Regular title and the chance for the winner to face Joshua, his promoter and long time friend Tom Tsatas said "Team Charr is scared. They're petrified that they will come here to Chicago and Fres will end the career of Manuel Charr. Why would you want to go back to Germany bloodied, beaten and beltless. You have GGG and now we have BBB in Charr."
Tsatas went on to say that Pat English, a well known boxing litigator, has been putting forward all kinds of stumbling blocks but that they are prepared to fight this all the way by "any means necessary" to get Charr stripped if he doesn't come fight in Chicago.
"We won the WBA purse bid fair and square. Simple. "If you don't abide by your own rules, then don't even have rules nor purse bids. But then again this is boxing and anything goes" Tsatas ended.