According to media reports, the IBF has asked 140-pound ultralight undisputed champion Josh Taylor (19-0, 13KO) to conduct a mandatory defending battle against No. 1 challenger Jeremyas Ponce (30-0, 20KO), and if Taylor intends to do so, the two sides must reach an agreement by the 23rd of this month, otherwise the match will be openly bid.
The outside world believes that integrating various situation analysis, the 31-year-old Taylor is very likely to reject the 26-year-old Ponce and then give up the IBF boxing champion gold belt. Prior to this, Taylor gave up the WBA and WBC boxing gold belts in April and July this year, respectively, and if he gave up the IBF gold belt, there was only one WBO gold belt left, and he was only one step away from becoming a "light rod commander".
Compared with the unknown Ponce, Taylor plans to start a second-time battle with his old rival Jack Catterrol in November this year, and if he insists on doing so, it will be really difficult to face Ponce unless the IBF makes a new adjustment, but the IBF has always been "one thing and one thing", and I am afraid it will not accommodate Taylor.
In February of this year, Taylor was stunned by the confrontation with Catterrol, and inexplicably won the victory after being knocked down, which was listed by many media as the biggest black whistle in the boxing world of 2022. Taylor, who relies on the referee to help get through the danger, was pushed to the cusp of the storm by boxing fans, in order to calm the anger, he decided to justify himself by fighting Catterore again, and the relevant matters are currently being promoted.
If Taylor gave up the IBF gold belt, Catterore would naturally not be happy, because competing for one gold belt was completely different from fighting for two gold belts, and may even affect Catterore's honorarium income. It's no big deal for Taylor to give up another gold belt, saying he would advance to the 147-pounder middleweight if he beat Catterore in the second game.
Taylor's abandonment of the IBF gold belt is not unreasonable, except for the time conflict, that is, Ponce has almost no fame and belongs to the high-risk, low-reward boxers. Originally from Argentina, Ponce won the IBO Ultra Lightweight Championship and, despite winning all the games, played in a very average quality. Last June, Ponce played the only 4-star match of his career so far, winning 10 rounds when he competed with Briton Lewis Ritson for IBF mandatory challenge qualification. In addition, most of Ponce's competition grades are 1 star, 2 stars, and even the 3-star game has only been completed, which is completely "unknown".
I have seen a game in Ponce, his speed is slow, but the attack and defense are rigorous, especially good at physical attack, in short, there is a certain strength, but unfortunately it does not belong to Taylor's dish. If Taylor ultimately rejects Ponce, the IBF will ask Ponce to compete with number two boxer, Subel Matthias for the vacant title. Matthias boxing fans from Puerto Rico are not strangers, belong to the level of famous heavy gunners, professional record 18 wins and 1 loss, 18 KO opponents, he and Ponce, it is bound to be very suspenseful, to see if Matthias can destroy Ponce's dream of world championship?
According to other sources, if Taylor beat Catteroir in the second game and there is no ideal opponent to attract him to 147 pounds, Taylor does not rule out staying in the 140 pounds to face Teofimo Lopez, this game is very interesting, provided that Lopez must beat Pedro Kampa this week, and then maybe reach an agreement with Taylor.