Willibaldo Garcia is officially on the clock to honor his mandatory title defense obligations.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the current IBF 115lbs titlist was ordered to next face top-rated contender Andrew Moloney. Both parties were instructed to enter a 30-day negotiation period to reach a deal before the matter is sent to a purse bid hearing.
Furthermore, the order – which stems from a previous ruling, as reported by BoxingScene – outlines that Mexico’s Garcia, 23-6-2 (13 KOs), cannot file for an exception. This functionally removes any hopes for a desired undisputed championship showdown with lineal, Ring, WBC, WBA and WBO champ Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, 23-0 (16 KOs).
“Please be advised… Willibaldo Garcia is due to make the mandatory defense of the title on February 23, 2026,” IBF Championship Committee chairman George Martinez informed Garcia’s team in a letter obtained by BoxingScene. “On September 25, the IBF granted Mr. Garcia’s exception request to fight Kenshiro Teraji. The bout did not take place.
“One of the conditions to the exception was that there would be no further delays to the mandatory obligation. The leading available contender is #3 Andrew Moloney.”
A deal must be reached by no longer than February 20, 2026.
The original ruling called for the fight to take place no later than June 25, 2026. However, that date was based on the 180-day maximum period from the previously scheduled Garcia-Teraji bout for December 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Garcia made it all the way to the weigh-in – and staredown – before he fell ill and was hospitalized soon thereafter.
Teraji, a former two-division champ, was left without a fight while Garcia put himself in a corner as it relates to his next options – which are down to one, absent vacating the IBF title.
Garcia claimed the belt in a 12-round, split decision over countryman Rene Calixto in a rematch last May 23 in Zacatecas, Mexico. The bout came five months after the two fought to a split decision draw for the same stakes last December 21 in Shizuoka, Japan.
Moloney, 27-4 (17 KOs) – a former secondary WBA titlist at the weight – went nearly all of 2025 without a fight before he snuck in a knockout win on a November 1 show in Suva, Fiji. It was his first bout since last December 15, though the extended break was not entirely his fault.
Aiding the lengthy gap was an oft-rescheduled title eliminator versus Argi Cortes, which ultimately fell apart during fight week. Moloney was in Mexico for more than three weeks, but was presented with a late surprise when the event moved from Durango to Cortes’ Mexico City on just five days’ notice.
The combination of risking having to fight at a much higher altitude – where Cortes was already comfortable – and the lack of professionalism was enough for his team to pull the plug.
Moloney – whose twin brother Jason is a former WBO 118lbs titlist – has won two in a row since a heartbreaking split decision defeat to Pedro Guevara last May in Perth, Australia. Overall, he is 7-2 since his bizarre trilogy with Joshua Franco, which resulted in his first two defeats and the end of his secondary title reign.
