By Ronnie Nathanielsz
Z Gorres has had his dream of once again fighting for a world title sidelined by the IBF after a bitterly controversial draw with Vic Darchinyan in a fight that was ruined by an incompetent referee and unruly fans who pelted the ring with plastic water bottles and coins at the plush Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City last Saturday.
IBF Championship Committee chairman Lindsey Tucker informed Viva Sports/Manila Standard Today that should Darchinyan become the highest ranked available contender for the title of Dimitri Kirilov , he would be the designated challenger.
Tucker said IBF rules “would not allow” Gorres to be given a mandatory shot at the winner of a possible KIrilov-Darchinyan title fight claiming that Gorres “did not win the eliminator and because of that we can’t order the champion to fight him.”
However, Tucker left a small window of opportunity for the flashy Filipino southpaw saying that if the champion (KIrilov) “decides to fight Gorres in an optional defense we would approve it.”
Tucker reiterated that the IBF was required to notify Kirilov of his mandatory challenger in the first week of March although at the present time they don’t know who the highest rated available challenger is.
In the last IBF ratings Darchinyan was No. 5 and Gorres No. 6 with Martin Castillo No. 3 and Pramuansak Posuwan of Thailand No. 4. The IBF official said that since the Gorres-Darchinyan fight ended in a draw he couldn’t see how Gorres would end up being rated higher than Darchinyan.
