The IBF is moving forward with a purse bid for unified lightweight champion Mikey Garcia after not reaching a deal with mandatory challenger Richard Commey.
The governing body previously ordered Garcia to reach a deal with Commey by August 30. Since that hasn't happened, the IBF has now ordered a purse bid for September 25 at 12 PM at the IBF offices in Springfield, New Jersey.
Garcia holds the WBC title as well, but is thinking of moving up in weight to challenge IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. Though both sides have stated mutual interest in making a fight happen, talks have since then slowed down a bit. Garcia won the IBF lightweight title back in late July with a unanimous decision win over Robert Easter Jr.
Commey was the mandatory challenger to the IBF before Easter's loss to Garcia and since Garcia won the title, Garcia also inherited the former title challenger as his mandatory. Commey previously fought for the title in 2016, but lost to Easter by split decision.
This isn't the first time Garcia won an IBF title and was faced with a deadline to agree to a fight deal against his mandatory challenger. When Garcia won the IBF junior welterweight title earlier this year against then-champion Sergey Lipinets, Garcia was ordered to fight mandatory challenger Ivan Baranchyk. Initially, it seemed as if Garcia would keep the IBF 140-pound title, but Garcia ultimately decided to move back down to lightweight for the unification bout, vacating the belt without defending his junior welterweight title.
