IBF To Sanction Arroyo-Geraldo As 115 Lb. Title Eliminator
Nov 10, 2014 • 4:19 AM ET
By Jake Donovan
A request for a super flyweight title elimination bout between contenders McJoe Arroyo and Mark Geraldo has been blessed by the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
The bout will take place December 20 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The winner will earn the right to face reigning IBF 115 lb. titlist Zolani Tete in the first half of 2015.
“The IBF has granted formal sanction approval for the IBF Jr. bantamweight Eliminator fight for the #1 position between #2, McJoe Arroyo and #9, Mark Geraldo,” IBF Ratings Chairman Lindsay Tucker confirmed to both camps, in a letter obtained by BoxingScene.com. “The winner will be the #1 and the mandatory challenger.”
Arroyo (15-0, 8KOs) is coming off of the biggest win of his pro career, an 11th round stoppage over former flyweight titlist Hernan ‘Tyson’ Marquez on the road in Mexico this past June. The win placed Arroyo as the #2 contender, while waiting out a scheduled title defense by Tete, who was slated to face Paul Butler in October but forced to withdraw due to injury.
The knockout win by Arroyo came around the same time his twin brother McWilliams Arroyo also earned a title shot, knocking out Froilan Saludar just five days later. McWilliams went on to contend for the IBF flyweight title, falling just short in a split decision versus Amnat Ruenroeng on the road in Thailand this past September.
The Arroyo twins represented Puerto Rico in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Geraldo (31-4, 14KOs) comes in riding a nine-fight win streak as he fights on the road for his second straight fight. The 23-year old southpaw from Philippines scored a six-round decision over Efrain Perez in his last fight, which took place on the undercard of a Top Rank show this past July in Macau, China. His last loss came to former strawweight titlist Oleydong Sithsamercha, dropping a competitive but clear decision in their July ’11 clash in Thailand.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.
