IBF Directs Willibaldo Garcia Toward Mandatory Defense Against Moloney

The IBF has ordered Willibaldo Garcia straight into his next mandatory defense, stripping away the remaining room to maneuver and forcing a single path forward. The belt stays only if the fight happens.

The instruction came through after the IBF told Garcia to open talks with Andrew Moloney, the top-rated available challenger. Both camps have 30 days to settle terms before the bout slides into a purse bid. The ruling also blocks any request for another exception, ending the discussion around an undisputed fight with Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez.

The window has been shut, not paused

The timing is not accidental. IBF Championship Committee chairman George Martinez confirmed the defense must be completed no later than February 23, 2026. That date pulls the schedule forward and removes the cushion Garcia expected to have. Under the earlier timeline, he would have been protected until late June. That protection is gone.

Garcia already used his one pass. The IBF granted an exception last year so he could chase a unification with Kenshiro Teraji. That bout was booked for December in Riyadh, then collapsed when Garcia fell ill during fight week and required hospitalization. When the sanctioning body signed off on the delay, it made clear there would be no second allowance tied to the mandatory obligation. The new order enforces that warning.

Why the Teraji exception changed everything

The cancelled Teraji fight reshaped the division without throwing a punch. The IBF had anchored its earlier patience to that unification attempt. Once it fell apart, the clock restarted under stricter terms. The original 180-day window no longer applies. The titleholder must defend now or step aside.

Garcia won the IBF belt in May through a split decision over Rene Calixto in Zacatecas, five months after their split draw in Japan. Those two fights defined his claim. They also left little appetite inside the IBF for further delays while bigger names circle elsewhere.

Moloney is not optional, only next

Andrew Moloney enters as the only fight left in front of Garcia unless he vacates. The former WBA secondary titleholder has boxed once in the past year, ending a long layoff with a knockout in November. An eliminator with Argi Cortes fell apart earlier and slowed his climb, but the ranking held.

This is a straight mandate.  Either Garcia faces Moloney under IBF terms or the belt moves on without him.