Eduardo Nunez will await further instructions on his path toward his first career title shot.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that a previously ordered semifinal title eliminator is no longer in play between the Mexico’s Nunez and England’s Zelfa Barrett. A purse bid hearing scheduled for Tuesday was canceled when the sanctioning body was informed that Barrett was no longer interested in proceeding with the process.
The bout was ordered on August 23 as part of a four-man box-off. Boxing Scene has learned that the IBF is prepared to have Nunez face the next highest ranked available contender. However, that could change as his team would much rather prefer a single eliminator versus former IBF titlist Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (17-1-1, 14KOs).
Barrett (29-2, 16KOs) is believed to next take a domestic level fight while he explores another avenue to a second career title shot. The decision to withdraw from this process slows his chances to face reigning IBF titleholder Joe Cordina (16-0, 9KOs), however; IBF Rule 9.C states that any decision to abandon talks will result in a rankings demotion and the inability to enter any IBF-sanctioned fight for at least six months.
Nunez (24-1, 24KOs) has won his last fourteen bouts, all by knockout and none which have gone beyond the tenth round. The 26-year-old from Los Mochis, Mexico signed with Matchroom earlier this year, shortly after an impressive second-round knockout of unbeaten Jesus Martin Ceyca on its March 4 show in Culiacan, Mexico.
The hope among his team is for the red-hot knockout artist to get back in the ring as soon as possible, preferably in a fight where a win puts him on the doorstep of title contention. Matchroom has several dates over the next several months, including an October 28 card in Cancun, Mexico where he would be a perfect fit. The show is topped by the O’Shaquie Foster-Eduardo ‘Rocky’ Hernandez WBC junior lightweight title fight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox