Shohjahon Ergashev remains first in line to compete in an IBF title eliminator.
The process to secure an opponent for such a fight, however, remains an arduous task.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that the IBF has sent an invitation to Australia’s Stevie Spark to enter talks for a final elimination bout versus Uzbekistan’s Ergashev. Spark—who is signed to Matchroom Boxing—will have three days from the time of receipt last Friday to accept, at which point the sanctioning body will order a negotiation period for the fight to determine the mandatory challenger for recently crowned IBF junior welterweight titlist Subriel Matias.
The development comes after England’s Jack Catterall and Australia’s Liam Paro both declined an invitation to enter talks.
Catterall was first offered the opportunity. His specific reasons for passing on the chance to enter negotiations with Ergashev’s team aren’t immediately known. However, Boxing Scene has learned that talks are ongoing with WBC junior welterweight champ Regis Prograis (28-1, 24KOs), though a deal isn’t nearly in reach for what would be a voluntary title defense.
Australia’s Paro (23-0, 14KOs) entered 2023 with the intention of eventually challenging for a major title. However, the 26-year-old Brisbane-based contender could not commit to the IBF-offered eliminator as he is still recovering from a facial fracture that forced him to withdraw from a planned clash with Robbie Davies Jr. that would have taken place this past Saturday in Liverpool.
The IBF had to reach down to Toowoomba’s Spark (16-2, 14KOs) at number eight due to prior commitments met by former champions Teofimo Lopez and Jose Ramirez.
Lopez (18-1, 13KOs) is due to next challenge lineal and WBO junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor (20-0, 13KOs), The former lineal and unified WBA, IBF and WBO lightweight king accepted terms in a bid to become a two-division champ, with their fight due to take place June 10 in New York City.
Ramirez (27-1, 17KOs)—a former WBC/WBO 140-pound titlist—is already scheduled to face former IBF lightweight title claimant Richard Commey on March 25 in Fresno, California. The 30-year-old from nearby Avenal, California took this fight in lieu of a mandatory title shot versus Prograis, after his team unsuccessfully lobbied the WBC for a more favorable split ahead of an eventually canceled purse bid hearing.
Should Spark—ranked number eight at 140 by the IBF—decline the invitation, the sanctioning body will immediately proceed down its top 15 list. The scenario is likely, as Spark noted in recent time that he is being groomed to appear on the undercard of the yet-to-be-announced Canelo Alvarez-John Ryder super middleweight championship targeted for May 6 in Alvarez’s home state of Jalisco, Mexico.
Next in line would be Japan’s Andy Hiraoka (22-0, 17KOs, a stablemate of Naoya Inoue and whose team, Boxing Scene has learned, is interested in at least exploring the fight.
Ergashev (23-0, 20KOs) will enter his first career title eliminator.
A potential fight with Catterall would mark an embraced step up in class for the 31-year-old Uzbek, now based in Detroit, who has struggled to secure willing opponents as he has advanced from prospect to contender. His most notable win to date came in a ten-round, unanimous decision over Mykal Fox in their February 2019 battle of unbeaten prospects.
Six wins have followed, most recently an eight-round decision over Luis Alberto Veron in a stay-busy fight last May 26 in his adopted Detroit hometown.
The winner of the eventual title eliminator will be named the mandatory challenger to Matias (19-1, 19KOs). The lights-out puncher from Puerto Rico won the vacant IBF junior welterweight crown with a stoppage of Argentina’s Jeremias Ponce (30-1, 20KOs) after five rounds in their February 26 title fight from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox