Unbeaten Canadian lightweight (Prince) Lucas Bahdi one win away from WBA title fight

Lucas Bahdi, left, and Armando Casamonica pose for photos during a weigh-in ahead of their super lightweight bout, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Unbeaten Canadian (Prince) Lucas Bahdi will meet former world champion Roger (The Kid) Gutierrez in a 12-round WBA lightweight title elimination bout on Aug. 23 in Orlando, Fla.

The winner will become the mandatory challenger for WBA 135-pound champion Gervonta (Tank) Davis.

The contest at the Caribe Royale Resort is the first of Bahdi’s newly signed multi-fight contract extension with Jake Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions.

Bahdi (19-0-0 with 15 knockouts) is currently ranked fifth among lightweight contenders by the WBA, sixth by the IBF, 12th by the WBC and 14th by the WBO.

Gutierrez (29-6-1 with 22 knockouts) is ranked ninth by the WBA. The 30-year-old Venezuelan, who has won his last two fights after losing two straight, won the WBA super-featherweight title in 2021, losing his crown 19 months later.

Bahdi made his pro debut in 2019, winning his first 11 fights by knockout. The 31-year-old from Niagara Falls, Ont., recorded unanimous decision wins over Mexico’s Diego Fabian Eligio and Diego Andrade Chavez in 2022 before resuming his knockout streak.

In May 2023, Bahdi defeated Mexican Jesus Amparan to claim the IBF North American lightweight title. He then turned heads in July 2024 with a highlight-reel KO of American Ashton (H2O) Sylve. Bahdi won a unanimous decision over Filipino southpaw Ryan James Racaza last time out in March in Toronto.

Bahdi played hockey and soccer growing up, but things changed after he walked into a boxing gym at 14. He got serious about the sport at 16, shedding the other sports.

He fought as an amateur from 2009 to 2019 and was an Olympic alternate in 2016.

---

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 30, 2025