The International Boxing Federation has called a purse bid on February 2, between No. 3 Subriel Matias and No. 4 Gabriel Valenzuela for the 140-pound title to determine the mandatory challenger for light welterweight champion Richardson Hitchens.
Lance Pugmire reports that a purse bid has been requested for Matias vs. Valenzuela to determine Hitchens' No. 1 contender.
Mathias has a shot at the title
Sobril, 32, is not popular enough to be chosen by Hitchens for a pro bono defense. So, Matias has to go the mandatory route by beating baseball player Valenzuela to force him to fight. It makes sense. No 140-year-old champion would willingly face a KO artist like Matthias. We saw that with WBO champion Teofimo Lopez recently when he rejected the idea of facing Matias.
Former IBF champion Matias (21-2, 21 KO) lost his title to Liam Barrow last year, losing by 12-round unanimous decision on June 15 in Manatee, Puerto Rico. Viewed by many boxing fans as the bogeyman in the 140-pound division, Matias knocked out Roberto Ramirez in the second round on November 9.
Teofimo recently turned down what was said to be a career-high payday to defend his WBO light welterweight title against Subriel Matias. He said he didn't want to fight Mathias because Top Rank wanted the bout to be held on the West Coast and not in New York, where he felt it would do better.
Lopez also said he didn't like Top Rank's desire to put the fight with Matias on PPV. Fans believe Teofimo lacked the confidence to take the fight, knowing that Mathias hits hard and is a pressure fighter who could overpower him and ruin his career, such as it is.
Valenzuela (30-3-1, 17 KOs) is on a five-fight winning streak since losing to Montana Love by 12-round unanimous decision on May 7, 2022. His wins since then have come against lower-caliber opposition.
Richardson (19-0, 7 KOs) could face WBO champion Teofimo Lopez next in a unification fight on one of Turki Al-Sheikh's cards if Teo chooses to take it. If not, there is a possibility that George Kambosos Jr. will challenge Hitchens for the IBF belt.
