Kriel and Salva heading to purse bids
Back in early April the IBF ordered the teams of Deejay Kriel (15-1-1, 7) and Samuel Salva (17-0, 10) to begin negotiations for an IBF Minimumweight title fight. The order was for South African Kriel to make a mandatory defence against the unbeaten Filipino. It's now been reported by Dan Rafael of ESPN that negotiations haven't yielded a deal, and instead of waiting longer Salva's team have now requested the IBF organise the purse bid process.
The purse bid is now pencilled in for June 18th in New Jersey, and could see the promoters from either team, as well as any other promoter, make a bid for the fight.
Kriel won the IBF title earlier this year, when he upset Carlos Licona, with a remarkable 12th round KO win when he dropped Licona 3 times in the final round. Prior to that win there was little of note on Kriel's record, with his best win being a decision over Dexter Alimento. Notably that win over Licona was on Kriel's first bout outside of the South African province of Gauteng.
Salva on the other hand has never left the Philippines, but the 22 year old has scored very domestic wins, including 2 wins over veteran Donny Mabao, as well as wins over Marco John Rementizo and Rene Mark Cuarto. He's yet to get a win against an international opponent, but is highly ranked by the IBF.
It's going to be interesting to see how the purse bids go here, as it would seem likely both teams will do what they can to get home advantage, for what will be a huge bout for both men.
For those interested in Dan Rafael's story about the bout that can be read here.
The purse bid is now pencilled in for June 18th in New Jersey, and could see the promoters from either team, as well as any other promoter, make a bid for the fight.
Kriel won the IBF title earlier this year, when he upset Carlos Licona, with a remarkable 12th round KO win when he dropped Licona 3 times in the final round. Prior to that win there was little of note on Kriel's record, with his best win being a decision over Dexter Alimento. Notably that win over Licona was on Kriel's first bout outside of the South African province of Gauteng.
Salva on the other hand has never left the Philippines, but the 22 year old has scored very domestic wins, including 2 wins over veteran Donny Mabao, as well as wins over Marco John Rementizo and Rene Mark Cuarto. He's yet to get a win against an international opponent, but is highly ranked by the IBF.
It's going to be interesting to see how the purse bids go here, as it would seem likely both teams will do what they can to get home advantage, for what will be a huge bout for both men.
For those interested in Dan Rafael's story about the bout that can be read here.