The IBF lightweight title, vacated by Mikey Garcia in his pursuit of Errol Spence Jr., will be up for grabs early next year. According to ESPN, top contenders Richard Commey and Isa Chaniev have agreed to fight for the vacant title, potentially as the co-feature for Eleider Alvarez-Sergey Kovalev II on February 2nd.

Tantalizingly, the article also mentions the possibility of the winner facing the victor of Vasyl Lomachenko-Jose Pedraza in a three-belt unification match.

Commey (27-2, 24 KO) has come painfully close to lightweight gold twice, losing close matches to Robert Easter Jr. and Denis Shafikov. The Ghanaian went 2-0 in 2018, knocking out unbeaten Alejandro Luna and designated victim Yardley Armenta Cruz.

Chaniev (13-1, 6 KO) scored his third consecutive victory in May when he traded knockdowns with former interim champion Ismael Barroso en route to a decision victory. He’d previously lost to countryman Fedor Papazov in 2017.

Commey always puts on a show, so this seems like solid accompaniment for Alvarez-Kovalev II on ESPN.