Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov to Battle Zelfa Barrett for Vacant IBF Title!
The IBF’s top two ranked fighters, Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (16-0, 13KO) and Zelfa “Brown Flash” Barrett (28-1, 16KO), will square off for the vacant junior lightweight title. Furthermore, the winner will face former champion Joe “The Wizard” Cordina (15-0, 9KO).
Cordina was looking to make the first defense of the title against mandatory challenger Rakhimov on November 5. The Wizard had to pull out of the contest after suffering a hand injury which resulted in the IBF stripping him of the title.
THE VACANT TITLE REMAINS ON THE NOVEMBER 5 CARD
The title will remain up for grabs as scheduled on November 5. Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn took to social media with news of Barrett versus Rakhimov’s vacant title update. In addition, the winner has already signed to give Cordina a chance to win back the title he never lost in the ring (Tweet here).
Rakhimov must be relieved to see that his opportunity to fight for the title remained intact. In 2021, he came up short with a draw against then-champion Joseph Diaz in a fight where many felt he should have gotten the nod.
Barrett has not lost a fight since losing a majority decision to Ronnie Clark in 2018. He has captured the vacant IBF inter-continental title by stopping undefeated Eric Donovan in 2020. In his last outing, the Brown Flash took the EBU European title away from Faroukh Kourbanov on June 4.
Fans can catch the fight on the undercard of WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol versus mandatory challenger Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in Abu Dhabi.
By: Garrisson Bland
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