Etinosa Oliha has a new target in his pursuit to land a shot at a major title.
BoxingScene can confirm that the IBF has ordered a new title eliminator between the unbeaten Oliha, 21-0 (9 KOs) and Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams, 18-1 (12 KOs). The pair of middleweights and their respective camps have until April 3 to reach terms. Otherwise, a purse bid hearing will be ordered by the sanctioning body.
Oliha is promoted by Agon Sports; Williams is with Matchroom Boxing and managed by Sam Katkovski.
News of the bout was first revealed by former BoxingScene writer Jake Donovan.
Should both fighters go through with the bout, the winner will become the IBF mandatory challenger. Janibek Alimkhanuly, 16-0 (11 KOs), currently holds the belt along with the WBO title. The unbeaten unified titlist is due to next defend against unbeaten Anauel Ngamissengue, 14-0 (9 KOs) on April 5 on home soil in Astana, Kazakhstan.
According to an official IBF letter obtained by BoxingScene, Oliha and Williams are the two highest rated available middleweight contenders. News of the newly ordered eliminator comes after the surprising collapse of the previously assigned matchup.
Oliha was due to face Kyrone Davis, 19-3-1 (6 KOs). The two sides previously reached an agreement for a fight targeted this spring in Oliha’s native Italy.
Davis fights under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) banner, whose handlers sought to have the fight relocated to the United States.
“We were told they were still trying to reach a deal to get the fight moved over here,” Stephen ‘Breadman’ Edwards, Davis’ head trainer, told BoxingScene. “That was the last we’ve heard.”
The development was enough for the IBF to no longer consider Davis as eligible for the fight.
Williams is currently No. 9 in the most recent IBF rankings, three slots below Davis ahead of the next update. Ranked in between the two are Ngamissengue and former title challenger Andrei Mikhailovich.
The timing of the ordered fight is perfect for Williams, who is coming off a hard-fought victory over Patrice Volny. The Milwaukee-bred, Houston-based Williams earned a 12-round, unanimous decision victory this past Saturday in a DAZN main event from Orlando, Florida.
It was the second consecutive victory for Williams, following an eleventh-round, technical knockout defeat to Hamzah Sheeraz, 21-0-1 (17 KOs), last June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Oliha has been in the title conversation since his most recent win. The 26-year-old Italian contender scored a third-round knockout of Alexander Pavlov last September 14 at AGON Sportspark in Charlottenburg, Germany.
It was the fifth consecutive fight in Germany for Oliha, given AGON’s base. However, the plan was to return to Italy for the final elimination bout.
