Former two-belt champion José Carlos Ramirez (pictured) and Arnold Barboza Jr. have the chance to fight each other in an eliminator, but it seems doubtful the junior welterweight fight will come off. On August 17th, the IBF ordered Ramirez and Barboza to begin negotiations for the a final eliminator in the 140-pound division. No agreement was reached within the time frame allowed by the IBF, so the sanctioning body has scheduled a purse bid for Tuesday, September 19th. When tagged on social media with the purse bid news, Barboza tweeted, "First time I hear about this, but I’m all game." In mid-July, the WBO offered Barboza and Ramirez the chance to fight for the vacant WBO 140-pound title. However, Teofimo Lopez changed his mind about retirement and the title was never actually vacated.

 

A few days later, Barboza's manager Rick Mirigian announced that Barboza (28-0) was a promotional free agent after obtaining a release from Top Rank. Mirigian tweeted, "Top Rank did their best to get Barboza a fight three times with [current junior welterweight contender Teofimo] Lopez and he rejected them. [Top Rank was also] prepared to make the fight with Juan Carlos Ramirez. I want to thank Top Rank for that effort and allowing Barboza the chance to secure other opportunities out there right now."