Sergio Mendoza and Mpumelelo Tshabalala will meet to decide the IBF junior flyweight mandatory challenger.

The two will collide in Mendoza's hometown of Hermosillo, Mexico, on November 22.

The winner will be in pole position to face Thailand's IBF titlist Thanongsak Simsri, who won the vacant belt with a 12-round split decision over Christian Araneta on June 19. Currently, the IBF's top two positions are vacant while Mendoza and Tshabala sit at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively.

Mendoza (26-0, 22 KOs) turned professional at 18 in December 2018 and since then, "Yoreme" has worked his way up to prominence in his native Mexico.

He's reeled off victories over tough compatriot Erick Omar Lopez (SD 10), Angel Ramos (TKO3) and most recently a 10-round points win over Joel Cordova on July 4.

Tshabalala (11-1, 5 KOs) turned professional the year previous in 2017, winning his first five fights before dropping a 12-round majority decision to the vastly more experienced Siphamandla Baleni for domestic honours in October 2021.

He rebounded strongly to win the same title in his next fight with a fifth-round stoppage of Xolisa Magusha in March 2022, before making two defenses and stepping onto the world stage with decision victories over Jesse Espinas (UD10) and Junior Zarate (SD12) last September.