Florante Condes' Title Shot Heads To June

By Rey Danseco
 
HARD-HITTING Philippine minimumweight champion Florante Condes from a Binangonan town in Rizal province near Manila, might wait until June before he takes a shot for a world title.

The original plan of the title fight was next month, the camp of International Boxing Federation minimumweight king Muhammad Rachman moved the title defense against Condes to sometime in June in the United States.

Rachman’s Indonesian handler Ndondo "Aseng Jr." Sugiarto agreed to stage the bout after his boxer has assured by the American promoter of their demand purse of $75,000.

“The fight will be in June, but detailed date and venue will be discussed later," Indon reporter Jeff Pamungkas quoted Sugiarto.

Sugiarto claimed that his representative Sampson Lewkowicz, Golden Boy Promotion’s international matchmaker, has closed the deal to stage the 12-round mandatory fight in the 105-pound class with Condes’ American promoter Bobby Bostick and co-manager Dante Ortiz.

But the planned scheduled hasn’t yet approved by IBF president Marian Muhammad.

IBF originally insisted that the 35-year-old champion must put his title in a mandatory fight against Condes, the top ranked available contender, until May 6 or else he would be stripped of the title.

The fight should be held in April but it was postponed to May 6 after Rachman submitted to Muhammad a medical certificate, stating he had a ligament injury in his shoulder even before he controversially defended the title against Filipino champion Benjie Sorolla last December 23 in Jakarta.

Condes, 26, has a formidable record of 21-3-1 with 20 knockouts. While the 35-year old Rachman, whose reign begins in September 2004, has packed his record with 61-5-5, 31 KOs.

In case the title is declared vacant, Condes has the first right to fight for the crown against other top available contender, either Juan Palacios of  Nicaragua or Isaac Bustos of Mexico.