Tim Tszyu vs Erickson Lubin Ordered For IBF Final Eliminator

The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has officially ordered a final elimination bout between Tim Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs). This fight will determine the mandatory challenger in the junior middleweight division. The current IBF champion is Bakhram Murtazaliev. The two fighters have until July 30 to reach an agreement. Should they fail to do so, the fight will go to a purse bid. This announcement was made by Tszyu’s promoter, No Limit Boxing, on its official website.

No Limit Boxing also announced that Tszyu is scheduled to return to the ring on September 22 in his home country of Australia. This bout will presumably be against Lubin, provided there are no complications in finalizing the deal. Tszyu is set to fly out to Las Vegas on Friday to begin his training camp.

The upcoming September fight will be Tszyu’s first since his split decision loss in a unified title bout against Sebastian Fundora in March. In that match, Tszyu suffered a severe head cut from an accidental elbow. The bout headlined the inaugural card of the new PBC on Prime series.

Tszyu had previously agreed to a fight against rising star Vergil Ortiz for the August 3 Riyadh season card, headlined by Terence Crawford. However, Tszyu was forced to withdraw from the card, as he could not gain medical clearance for the cut sustained in the Fundora bout.

Erickson Lubin, on the other hand, will be returning to the ring for the first time since his unanimous decision victory over highly touted contender Jesus Ramos last September. Lubin handed Ramos his first professional loss and is currently on a two-fight winning streak. This follows his 2022 fight of the year loss to Sebastian Fundora.