The IBF’s two top-ranked flyweights have a date set to determine who will challenge titleholder Masamichi Yabuki.
Tobias Reyes and Miel Fajardo will fight on April 11 in Reyes’ home of Santa Fe, Argentina, according to event co-promoter Viva! Promotions.
Reyes is rated third by the IBF while Fajardo is fourth. The first and second spots are vacant.
The 28-year-old Reyes, 18-1-1 (16 KOs), came up short in a previous elimination bout, losing a narrow majority decision to Felix Alvarado in late 2024. Alvarado went on to lose to Yabuki via 12th-round knockout this past December.
Reyes bounced back with two victories in 2025, sending the 13-4 Jeanfran Medina packing in three rounds in May and then outpointing the 13-0-1 Pedro Alarcon in October.
Fajardo, 13-3-2 (11 KOs), is a 26-year-old from the Philippines. He lost a pair of decisions in 2024, one at junior flyweight to Thanongsak Simsri (who is now a titleholder at 108lbs) and the other at flyweight to the 18-6-1 Mchanja Yohana.
Last year, Fajardo took just 22 seconds to KO a 6-5-2 bantamweight in August and then returned to flyweight in October, winning a unanimous decision against the 22-3 Esneth Domingo.
At the time, Domingo was rated 10th at 112lbs while Fajardo was 13th. The victory earned Fajardo the IBF’s No. 8 spot. A month later, he jumped to No. 5. As of February 2026, Fajardo was moved up once again to No. 4.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
