The challenger to newly crowned IBF junior bantamweight champion
Willibaldo Garcia is set to emerge later this summer.
Argi Cortes and
Andrew Moloney have agreed to meet in Mexico for an IBF title eliminator in July, a source informed of the deal told The Ring on Wednesday.
Cortes (27-4-2, 11 KOs) has scored back-to-back wins since going the 12-round distance in a title shot against then-115-pound WBO champion
Junto Nakatani in September 2023.
Cortes, a 30-year-old Mexican contender, came up short the other time he stepped up in competition, getting dropped en route to a 12-round unanimous decision loss against Juan Francisco Estrada in September 2022.
Moloney (27-4, 17 KOs), meanwhile, has had an uneven ride over the last five years en route to a record of 6-4 and one no-contest. Moloney, a 34-year-old from Australia, is coming off a third-round stoppage win against Jakrawut Majungoen in December. His losses along the way have come against superior competition, including Joshua Franco twice by unanimous decision, Nakatani via vicious knockout and Pedro Guevara by split decision.
Garcia (23-5-2) won the IBF title against Rene Calixto Bibiano
in a rematch by split decision Friday in Mexico. The duo had fought to a split draw in December.
Argentina’s Fernando Martinez vacated the IBF title in October to pursue a rematch against Kazuto Ioka for the WBA title he also had held.
Martinez again outlasted Ioka via unanimous decision earlier this month.
The other champions in the 115-pound division include The Ring and WBC titlist
Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez and WBO titleholder
Phumelela Cafu. They will face off in a title unification bout on July 19 at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring’s lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.