In April, IBF strawweight champion Muhammad Rachman (61-5-5, 31 KO’s) will face the IBF mandatory challenger, Filipino KO king Florante Condes, nicknamed “the Lion from Manila” (21-3-1, 20 KO’s). “We requested the fight in April because of Rachman’s ligament injury before fighting Benjie Sorolla in December,” said Martinez dos Santos, Rachman’s manager. He also informed about the letter sent by the IBF ordering Rachman to make his mandatory defense first before fighting for a unification title. Rachman vs WBO champ Ivan Calderon was previously on discussion, but it’s now pending for a few months until after Rachman defends his IBF title mandatorily. “It’s just a matter of time, and we are ready to go to Puerto Rico, Japan, or USA for Rachman’s unification titles,” said dos Santos. Dos Santos also told Fightnews that there are many people claiming to be negotiating on behalf of Rachman. “We did not appoint any other party except Ndondo ‘Aseng Jr.’ Sugiarto as Rachman’s representative. These people talked and act as if they were Rachman’s representative, in fact they’re not,” said dos Santos strongly.
