BANTAMWEIGHT fighter Vusi Malinga's chances of winning the world boxing title have been greatly enhanced after Abner Mares, the IBF champion he was set to challenge, relinquished the crown this week.
Malinga (20-3-1, 12 KOs) from Ekurhuleni, will now battle for the vacant crown against the less dangerous Filipino AJ Banal on a date yet to be decided by the 30-day negotiations currently under way between the fighters' promoters.
The last-minute decision by Mares to dump the title came as a major shock as he is considered the best bantamweight fighter in the world after beating Ghana-born Joseph Agbeko in back-to-back bouts last year.
However the IBF's decision to enforce Malinga's mandatory on Mares after dethroning Agbeko when it was the Ghanaian who asked the sanctioning body to grant him an extension from honouring his mandatory obligations to Malinga must have played a role in Mares vacating the title.
Malinga earned the mandatory status after beating another Filipino, Michael Domingo, in October and has been patiently waiting in the wings for his shot. His mandatory should have been enforced by the end of September but due to the commitments of Agbeko, who was then the IBF champion, and Mares in the Showtime Super bantamweight series, Malinga had to wait a little longer.
And when the IBF ordered a rematch between Agbeko and Mares after their foul-filled August 18 bout Malinga waited until Mares won the return clash without controversy in December.
Malinga's promoter, Branco Milenkovic, breathed a sigh of relief at the news of Mares vacating the title.
"Look, Malinga has been subjected to a wait for long enough and either Mares fulfilled his mandatory obligations or vacate the title and he chose to do the latter," Milenkovic said.
Milenkovic claimed that the Mexican had pulled a similar stunt on Malinga before when they were both mandated to fight for the IBF title eliminator in 2009.
While Banal is not such a big name in the division compared to Mares, he still has an impressive record of a single loss and a draw in 28 bouts, with 19 stoppages. Rated third by the IBF, the 23-year-old Filipino southpaw will get a second bite at the world title, having previously lost to Panamanian Rafael Concepcion in a WBA junior bantamweight title clash.
Milenkovic said he would try to bring the fight to the country to improve Malinga's chances of winning.
Mares throws in the towel
BANTAMWEIGHT fighter Vusi Malinga's chances of winning the world boxing title have been greatly enhanced after Abner Mares, the IBF champion he was set to challenge, relinquished the crown this week.
Malinga (20-3-1, 12 KOs) from Ekurhuleni, will now battle for the vacant crown against the less dangerous Filipino AJ Banal on a date yet to be decided by the 30-day negotiations currently under way between the fighters' promoters.
The last-minute decision by Mares to dump the title came as a major shock as he is considered the best bantamweight fighter in the world after beating Ghana-born Joseph Agbeko in back-to-back bouts last year.
However the IBF's decision to enforce Malinga's mandatory on Mares after dethroning Agbeko when it was the Ghanaian who asked the sanctioning body to grant him an extension from honouring his mandatory obligations to Malinga must have played a role in Mares vacating the title.
Malinga earned the mandatory status after beating another Filipino, Michael Domingo, in October and has been patiently waiting in the wings for his shot. His mandatory should have been enforced by the end of September but due to the commitments of Agbeko, who was then the IBF champion, and Mares in the Showtime Super bantamweight series, Malinga had to wait a little longer.
And when the IBF ordered a rematch between Agbeko and Mares after their foul-filled August 18 bout Malinga waited until Mares won the return clash without controversy in December.
Malinga's promoter, Branco Milenkovic, breathed a sigh of relief at the news of Mares vacating the title.
"Look, Malinga has been subjected to a wait for long enough and either Mares fulfilled his mandatory obligations or vacate the title and he chose to do the latter," Milenkovic said.
Milenkovic claimed that the Mexican had pulled a similar stunt on Malinga before when they were both mandated to fight for the IBF title eliminator in 2009.
While Banal is not such a big name in the division compared to Mares, he still has an impressive record of a single loss and a draw in 28 bouts, with 19 stoppages. Rated third by the IBF, the 23-year-old Filipino southpaw will get a second bite at the world title, having previously lost to Panamanian Rafael Concepcion in a WBA junior bantamweight title clash.
Milenkovic said he would try to bring the fight to the country to improve Malinga's chances of winning.
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