The Australian boxer who competes in the middleweight division has withdrawn from his scheduled fight against Esquiva Falcao (30-0, 20 KOs) for the vacant IBF title. This announcement coincides with the WBA’s instruction for their middleweight champion, Erislandy Lara (29-3-3, 17 KOs), to defend his title against Michael Zerafa (31-4, 19 KOs). As a result, the IBF purse bid hearing that was previously arranged has been canceled.
Lara is managed by TGB Promotion, which represents Premier Boxing Champions, and he and Zerafa have until April 13 to agree on terms for their upcoming fight. Zerafa’s team, led by manager Grant Elvis Phillips, initially requested a 30-day extension for the IBF purse bid, but later reached a compromise with Top Rank, who represents Falcao, to reschedule the bid for March 21 with a seven-day exception.
After vacating the IBF middleweight title, Esquiva Falcao and Zerafa were instructed on February 9 of 2023 to begin negotiating the terms of the fight. The deadline for reaching an agreement was set at 30 days. However, on March 1, Top Rank informed the IBF that negotiations had come to a standstill and requested an immediate purse bid, as is the right of any promoter during the negotiation process.
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