Matias vs Ponce set for Feb. 11 in Minnesota
TGB Promotions won the purse bid in November
Multiple sources report that after ages of shenanigans, the IBF super lightweight title fight between Subriel Matias and Jeremias Ponce will finally take place on a February 11th PBC show in Minnesota.
No word as to the specific locale, but I’m guessing The Armory.
The pair have been on a collision course since mid-2021, when Matias (18-1, 18 KO) trucked Batyrzhan Jukembayev and Ponce (30-0, 20 KO) beat down Lewis Ritson in what were supposed to be semifinal eliminators. They ended up pumping the brakes until they could determine what Josh Taylor intended to do with his title, and when “The Tartan Tornado” decided to be a prick and just squat on it, the IBF ordered him to fight Ponce.
Taylor predictably ditched the belt, though he again took his sweet time about it, turning what was originally a final eliminator into a vacant title fight. It was tentatively scheduled to join Wilder-Helenius, but Matias claimed that Ponce didn’t get his visa on time. Other reporting suggested that there never was a deal in the first place, prompting the IBF to order it again and set up a purse bid that TGB Promotions won unopposed.
It promises to be a phenomenal action fight, and it just needs to stay together for two more months.