An ordered title eliminator between unbeaten contenders is now available to the highest bidder.  

The respective teams for unbeaten junior welterweight contenders Arnold Barboza Jr. and Liam Paro have failed to reach terms within the ten-day negotiation period assigned by the WBO. The matchup will now serve as the subject of a purse bid hearing to take place Thursday from WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“On April 11, 2023, this Committee ordered the commencement of negotiations for the subject matter bout,” Luis Batista-Salas stated in an official letter obtained by BoxingScene.com. “The parties were granted 10 days to reach an agreement1. The foregoing time period has elapsed without an accord confirmed by either party.

Therefore, having the time provided by this Committee elapsed without an agreement reach by the parties, as per Sections 11 through 14 of the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests. It is hereby ordered to conduct a purse bid ceremony on Thursday, April 27, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) at the WBO main offices.”

Barboza is promoted by Top Rank, while Paro is signed with Matchroom Boxing.

The minimum accepted bid for the final elimination bout is $150,000. The winning bidder must be registered with the WBO and followed by a twenty-percent deposit of said final amount within two business days of the proceedings.

The winner—should the fight move forward—will be named the mandatory challenger to the WBO 140-pound title. Its current claimant is lineal and former undisputed champion Josh Taylor (19-0, 13KOs), who next faces former lineal and unified lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez (18-1, 13KOs) on June 10 at Madison Square Garden Hulu Theater in New York City.

Australia’s Paro (23-0, 14KOs) previously commanded the top spot in the WBO 140-pound rankings but was never formally identified as the mandatory challenger. The 26-year-old Brisbane southpaw advanced to the top after a ten-round win over Yomar Alamo in their December 2021 battle of unbeaten young contenders.

His lone bout of 2022 was in an all-Oz clash with undefeated Brock Jarvis, which launched Matchroom’s DAZN debut in the Australian market. Paro made an emphatic statement in a sensational first-round knockout of his countryman. Paro entered 2023 with the intention of eventually challenging for a major title. However, he was forced to withdraw from a March 11 clash with England’s Robbie Davies Jr. after suffering a facial fracture during training camp.

Barboza (28-0, 10KOs) is coming off ten-round points win over former two-division titlist Jose Pedraza on February 3 in Glendale, Arizona. The fight was his first following a July 15 victory over then-unbeaten Danielito Zorrilla. His time spent in between—and even prior to the Zorrilla fight—was spent calling out any and every relevant 140-pound titlist and contender, only for everyone to largely ignore his challenges.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox