By Osman Rodriguez

According to sources with knowledge of the details, Gary Russell Jr. (19-0, 11 KOs) is not going forward with a planned IBF featherweight eliminator against Luis Franco (11-0, 7 KOs). On May 31, a purse bid took place at the IBF convention in Honolulu, Hawaii and Gary Shaw, who promotes Franco, outbid Golden Boy Promotions to secure the rights to promote the fight. The winning bid was $220,000. Golden Boy wanted to place the fight on their Showtime televised date of June 30th. Shaw reportedly had other plans and was looking to place the fight on an HBO televised date. The exact reason for Russell's withdrawal is not confirmed, but sources indicate the reason is not injury related.