IBF orders Cortes vs Moloney super flyweight final eliminator

Andrew Moloney is once again on the cusp of a title shot after the IBF ordered him to fight Argi Cortes in a super flyweight final eliminator

After something of a post-Superfly lull, the 115-pound division is once again picking up steam. Fernando Martinez and Kazuto Ioka will run back last year’s battle this coming Sunday and Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez will face Phumelela Cafu in a unification in June.

That said, the IBF has missed out on most of the fun since Martinez ditched their title in favor of the Ioka rematch, though we do have some new updates. Rene Calixto and Willibaldo Garcia, who fought to a draw for the vacant belt last December, will meet again on the 23rd of this month, while Jake Donovan reports that Argi Cortes will fight Andrew Moloney to determine the winner’s first mandatory challenger.

This is one of those matchups that’s solid on its own merits but has no business being an eliminator. Cortes’ (27-4-2, 11 KO) career highlights were a near-miss against Juan Francisco Estrada in 2022 and surviving 12 full rounds against Junto Nakatani the following year, while Moloney (27-4, 17 KO) has come up short in five championship fights to date if you count secondary titles.

We’ll let you know if this gets over the line.