Manny Pacquiao's promotional company, MP Promotions, won a purse bid win the promotional rights for an IBF minimumweight title bout.
The fight will have titleholder DeeJay Kriel and mandatory challenger Samuel Salva face each other, likely towards the end of the summer after Pacquiao's company was the only bidder. MP Promotions won the bid with a $25,000 offer. Per the IBF rules, Kriel is entitled to 65 percent of the winning bid ($16,250) as the champion while Salva gets the remaining 35 percent ($8,750).
According to Dan Rafael, who spoke with matchmaker Sean Gibbons, the fight would take place on August 24 in Manila, Philippines, Salva's native country. The fight will be Kriel's first world title defense since winning the belt back in February. Kriel scored three knockdowns against former titleholder Carlos Licona in the final round of their world title bout to become the new IBF titleholder.
Salva is undefeated as a pro, winning all 17 of his fights taking place in the Philippines. Salva, ranked No. 1 by the IBF, is also ranked in the top 10 by both the WBA and WBO and is coming off a 12-round decision win against Rene Mark Cuarto back in March.
The IBF title was previously held by Hiroto Kyoguchi, who vacated the belt in order to move up in weight and capture a light flyweight title. Licona would go on to win the title last December only to lose it to Kriel months later in his first world title defense.
