Bob Arum DEMANDS Ruiz be Stripped of IBF Belt, or Face Pulev Next

Looks like Arum is trying to get Ruiz stripped of the IBF title. Will Ruiz still hold IBF title when he meets Joshua? When Ruiz dethroned Joshua via seventh-round knockout, he picked up three heavyweight titles. Now, the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent is in danger of losing his IBF belt before he even enters the ring again. The IBF is well regarded for following its own rules — a rarity among sanctioning bodies — and it doesn’t recognize rematch clauses. After Tyson Fury upset Wladimir Klitschko in November 2015, he was subsequently stripped of his IBF title because a fight was due against his mandatory challenger, and he was legally obligated to fight Klitschko again. (The rematch never happened because Fury was sidelined for 2 1/2 years as he battled depression and addiction before Klitschko retired.) Charles Martin met Vyacheslav Glazkov for the vacant title, and Fury was left with two belts before he was later stripped of those, too, for inactivity. Now, Ruiz could be left with just the WBA and WBO titles if No. 1 contender Kubrat Pulev is successful in petitioning the IBF to order a fight between the two. Tom Brown, who promotes all of Haymon’s PBC’s shows, issued a letter July 24 requesting an exception to the mandatory fight between Ruiz and Pulev. On July 31, John Wirt, attorney for Epic Sports (Pulev’s co-promoter alongside Top Rank), issued a rebuttal, a copy of which was obtained by The Athletic, in which he said the mandatory is now due, citing the WBO’s approval of the rematch and saying that pushed the IBF to the front of the rotational system that is in place for unified titleholders. Pulev won his first IBF eliminator with a 2016 decision victory over Dereck Chisora. He won a second eliminator in October with a points win over Hughie Fury (Tyson’s cousin). Brown issued a rebuttal Monday — also obtained by The Athletic — in which it was pointed out that Pulev was unavailable for much of July after he was suspended by the California commission in connection with an incident in which he kissed a female reporter following a fight in May (he’s since been reinstated). Brown also says the IBF rules allow for an exception especially with an “exceptional” fight such as Ruiz-Joshua 2 and observes that Top Rank fighter Terence Crawford was granted an exception in 2017. Adam Kownacki defeated Chris Arreola on Saturday in a heavyweight fight that broke the CompuBox record for the combined number of punches thrown, and as a result, he was elevated to the No. 3 spot in the IBF ratings (No. 2 is vacant). That means that if Ruiz is indeed stripped, the IBF would then order a fight between Pulev and Kownacki for the vacant title. The IBF is expected to rule in the coming days, per sources. https://theathletic.com/1117272/2019/08/07/will-a-megafight-finally-land-in-the-middle-east-saudi-arabia-makes-push-for-andy-ruiz-anthony-joshua-2/ Interesting stuff. Don't think the IBF will, but if Ruiz does get stripped it will be Pulev vs Kownacki for the title. Damn good fight actually.