The International Boxing Federation has announced that it will hold a purse bid at its new offices in New Jersey on Jan. 16 for junior featherweight champion Manny Pacquiao?s twice-postponed mandatory title defense against top contender Jose Luis Valbuena of Venezuela.
IBF indicated that should the Pacquiao camp ignore the purse bid, then the Filipino southpaw, who won the title with a crushing sixth-round TKO of highly touted South African champion Lelohonolo Ledwaba at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on June 23, 2001, would be stripped of the title.
Pacquiao first had Valbuena step aside so he could defend the title against undefeated Emmanuel Lucero, whom he annihilated in three rounds at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles on July 26, 2003. He then devastated legendary featherweight Marco Antonio Barrera on Nov. 15, 2003 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The purse bidding was ordered by IBF president Marian Muhammad because of the postponement of two title defenses.
