Murodjon Akhmadaliev will be granted more time to work out terms for his next ordered title fight.

BoxingScene.com has learned that the IBF has postponed a previously scheduled purse bid hearing to determine promotional rights for Akhmadaliev’s mandatory defense versus Marlon Tapales. The session was due to take place January 18 from IBF headquarters in Springfield, New Jersey, only for both parties to be informed of the delay.

There is now at least one more week for the two sides to reach an agreement to avoid such a session, though the ruling contradicts the decision by Tapales’ side to send the matter to a purse bid at the start of negotiations. Tapales and his swarm of promoters and managers—MP Promotions, Sanman Boxing, Shapiro Sports, and Viva Promotions—were not interested in drawn out talks, as the Filipino contender was eager to receive his title shot.

A message left with the IBF by BoxingScene.com seeking comment went unreturned as this goes to publish. However, the original letter calling for the mandatory fight leaves room for dispute.

The fight was initially ordered January 4, though indicating that Akhmadaliev “won the Title on April 3, 2021. His mandatory defense was due on or before January 3, 2022” in a letter sent to Tapales’ team as well as Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, representing the defending titlist. The timeline is incorrect, as Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7KOs)—a 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist for Uzbekistan—won the IBF and WBA titles in a twelve-round, split decision over Danny Roman on January 30, 2020.

The 27-year-old Uzbek southpaw has since honored his IBF mandatory obligation with a fifth-round knockout of Ryosuke Iwasa last April 3 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Akhmadaliev was due to face WBA mandatory challenger Ronny Rios last November. Rios was forced to withdraw after testing positive for Covid, leaving Akhmadaliev to face Chile’s Jose Velasquez in a makeshift voluntary defense to salvage the fight date.

The WBA has since complicated matters by naming Azat Hovhannisyan as its mandatory challenger, while failing to rule on Rios’ current status. Former bantamweight titlist Tomoki Kameda also recently fought in a title eliminator, though more to move up the rankings than in expectation of a mandatory title fight.

It now appears that Akhmadaliev has to juggle two mandatory title defenses. 

Tapales (35-3, 18KOs) entered the title picture following a second-round knockout of Hiroaki Teshigawara last December 11 clash at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The fight came with the IBF’s blessing as a title eliminator, honoring such a request by Tapales’ team. The win was his second straight following a heartbreaking 11th round stoppage loss to Iwasa in their December 2019 title eliminator.

Akhmadaliev has made two successful defenses of his unified title, with the win over Velasquez coming eight days prior to a second divisional unification bout. Stephen Fulton edged Brandon Figueroa via majority decision in their terrific November 27 clash in Las Vegas, claiming the WBC junior featherweight belt while making the first defense of his WBO title that he won last January.

The current IBF order prevents Akhmadaliev and Tapales from entering an agreement for any other fight. Should the bout still head to a purse bid next Tuesday or at any point in the future, the minimum accepted bid per IBF rules is $25,000 for a junior featherweight title fight between a defending title claimant and a number-one or number-two contender. The bid must be accompanied by a $5,000 non-refundable deposit to be accepted. The winning bid will be split 65/35, with 65% in favor of Akhmadaliev as the defending champion.

If nobody bids on the fight, a second purse bid hearing will be called per IBF Rule 10A covering purse bid procedures. Should that session fail to produce a single bidder, the title could be declared vacant.

For now, all involved parties have at least seven more days to avoid that route.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox