Garcia vs Commey purse bid postponed

According to ESPN, a purse bid ordered by the IBF for lightweight titleholder Mikey Garcia and mandatory challenger Richard Commey has been postponed at the request of the camps, and is now scheduled to take place on October 2.

Garcia (39-0, 30 KO) picked up the IBF belt on July 28, beating Robert Easter Jr by decision, unifying with the WBC title he already held. But there are real questions about whether or not he’s going to fight again at 135 pounds, as he’s widely and loudly campaigned for a shot at welterweight titleholder Errol Spence Jr.

That fight, though, doesn’t seem to have picked up a lot of steam, and has sort of fallen by the wayside in terms of discussion, or at least that appears to be the case. So there’s a chance, however slim, that Garcia could indeed face Commey (27-2, 24 KO), a former title challenger and a guy who’s been a legitimate contender for a while now. It would be a good fight, about as good as Garcia’s going to find at 135 save for a bout with Vasiliy Lomachenko, which is very unlikely due to the politics of the sport.

My gut feeling is that the Garcia camp will try to get the Spence fight, and if that doesn’t go, then Commey becomes a real option for them. Not their preferred option, but not a bad fight, and it would allow Garcia to keep his belt for the time being, at least going in.

If Garcia-Commey doesn’t happen, then Commey will be ordered to face Russia’s Isa Chaniev (13-1, 6 KO) for the vacant belt.