Andrew Moloney has withdrawn from this weekend’s IBF 115lbs title eliminator with Argi Cortés after the event was shifted, again, this time from Durango to Cortés’ hometown of Mexico City. The bout had already been delayed twice, moving from an original July 19 date in Monterrey to August 9 in Durango, then to Saturday, August 16. With Moloney out, Cortés will still headline in Mexico City against late replacement Bairon Rodríguez.
Cortés (27-4-2, 11 KOs) keeps the show alive on ESPN Knockout (ESPN+ and ESPN Deportes TBC), but the fight will no longer carry IBF sanctioning because Rodríguez is unranked. “I really felt bad,” Cortés said of the change. “Because it threw away all the technical work that had been done.”
The 30-year-old Mexican contender remains on the doorstep after two hard-luck losses at the elite level - taking Junto Nakatani the full 12 in a September 2023 title bid and pushing Juan Francisco Estrada in their 2022 thriller - before rebounding with two wins, most recently a ninth-round KO of Salvador Juarez in August 2024 in Mexico City.
Rodríguez (11-3, 7 KOs), a 20-year-old Colombian based in Barcelona, steps up on short notice having dropped three of his last four. A Cortés win on Saturday won’t secure the IBF shot that was at stake - potentially against new titlist Willibaldo Garcia - but it preserves momentum and a much-needed hometown showcase after a chaotic build-up.
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