Marlon Tapales has waited literally all year for his mandatory title shot.
For now, he will have to wait until the end of the year before receiving confirmation on what that opportunity will materialize.
BoxingScene.com has confirmed that unified WBA/IBF junior featherweight titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev has filed a medical exception as the deadline approached for his enforced mandatory title defense against The Philippines’ Tapales. The two sides were ordered to negotiate and reach a deal by October 25, at which time a purse bid hearing would be called.
That process is now delayed in light of the IBF accepting Akhmadaliev’s exception request.
According to IBF Rule 5.d.3 covering injuries during an ordered title fight period, iIf a Champion is justifiably disabled 60 days or less before his mandatory due date, or continues to remain disabled from a disability incurred earlier, and such disability has been proven to and accepted by a physician approved by the President of the IBF/USBA who has certified that said disability will continue more than sixty (60) days beyond the mandatory due date, the Champion may be granted a medical extension not to exceed said sixty (60) days beyond the mandatory due date.”
Akhmadaliev (11-0, 8KOs)—who is promoted by Matchroom Boxing and World of Boxing—suffered a broken left hand during his twelfth-round stoppage of Ronny Rios on June 25 in San Antonio, Texas. The bout was one of two WBA mandatory defenses in waiting for the unbeaten Uzbek, with Azat Hovhannisyan also waiting in the wings. However, the healing process has not advanced rapidly enough for Akhmadaliev to return to the ring as soon as he—or Tapales and his team—preferred.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Tapales’ team—a massive group consisting of MP Promotions, Sanman Boxing, Shapiro Sports, and Viva Promotions—will lobby for the IBF to approve an interim title fight, in lieu of spending any more time than necessary on the shelf.
The fight was initially ordered on January 4, with the two sides given until February 2 to reach a deal. That order was rescinded, once it was realized that the WBA was still first in the rotation of mandatory title defenses. Tapales’ side argued at the time that Rios lost his place in line after testing positive for Covid ahead of his originally scheduled fight with Akhmadaliev last November 19 in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The WBA eventually got its way, with Rios granted a rescheduled opportunity to face Akhmadaliev.
Akhmadaliev’s prior IBF mandatory title defense was honored last April 3, when he scored a fifth-round knockout of IBF mandatory challenger Ryosuke Iwasa in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The bout was his first in his home country since an amateur tournament in 2017, one year after claiming a Bronze medal for Uzbekistan in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Tapales, a 30-year-old southpaw from Kapatagan, Philippines, punched his way back into title contention following a second-round knockout of Hiroaki Teshigawara. The bout served as a title eliminator at the request of Tapales’ team. Tapales rose to the occasion, flooring Teshigawara three times in just 3:06 worth of ring action in forcing the stoppage in their December 11 clash.
It was a far more memorable ending than his previous title eliminator, two years almost to the day of his win over Teshigawara.
Tapales suffered an eleventh-round stoppage to Iwasa in their December 2019 eliminator in Brooklyn, New York, which ended a twelve-fight win streak. He has since won three straight heading into his first career title fight, including a second-round knockout of Jose Estrella in a stay-busy affair on May 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Per IBF purse bid rules, neither fighter is permitted to enter an agreement for another bout during the period for the ordered title fight. This prevents Akhmadaliev from pursuing bigger fights, even with the medical exception.
There has been demand for an undisputed showdown with WBC/WBO junior featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton (20-0, 8KOs). Such a fight was never formally discussed by either side, however, other than being casually mentioned by Fulton as a desired—though largely unrealistic—option for his next fight. It is more likely that Fulton can land a superfight with three-division titlist and current lineal/WBC/WBA/IBF bantamweight champ Naoya Inoue, who plans to move up to 122 following his undisputed showdown with WBO titlist Paul Butler on December 13 in Tokyo.
As for Akhmadaliev, his road to recovery still leads to an overdue title defense against Tapales.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
