Willibaldo Garcia and Rene Calixto now have a set location for their rematch.
As previously reported by BoxingScene, the abovementioned vacant IBF junior bantamweight title fight is scheduled to take place May 23 – though at the time, a venue was not yet in place. BXSTRS Promotions has resolved that issue, as the fight will land at Gimnasio Marcelino Gonzalez in Zacatecas, Mexico.
The bout has received formal sanctioning from the IBF, per an official letter obtained by BoxingScene. In its ruling, it was outlined that both boxers are required to submit to anti-doping testing immediately after their contest – whether through the local commission or provided by the event promoters.
Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions – which, along with BXTSRS, represents Garcia – won the rights to the fight in a February 11 purse bid hearing. With the date and location now in place, the second act between the pair of Mexican contenders will come five months after their thrilling December 20 split decision draw in Shizuoka, Japan.
Garcia, 22-5-2 (13 KOs), and Calixto, 23-0-1 (9 KOs), provided a Fight of the Year contender in their first meeting late last year. Their memorable affair – the first in which either boxer was extended past the 10th round – was a rare occasion when all three wide-ranging scorecards were acceptable, given the number of close and competitive rounds.
Judge Tetsuya Iida (118-110) had Garcia winning, while Surat Soikrachang (116-112) scored the fight for Calixto. It came down to judge Edward Ligas (114-114), who awarded six rounds apiece to produce the stalemate.
Kameda Promotions, headed by former three-division titlist Koki Kameda, presented the bout – hence its being staged in Japan despite both boxers not only hailing from Mexico but also from the same state (Guerrero). Calixto is signed to TMK International, led by Tomoki Kameda – a former bantamweight titlist and current featherweight contender who is also Koki’s younger brother.
Original plans called for the rematch to return to Japan. However, talks eventually stalled long enough for the IBF to send the matter to a purse bid hearing – and to re-stage the fight in Mexico, where both boxers can expect a much greater reception.
Garcia is unbeaten in his past nine starts. Prior to his split draw with Calixto, the streaking contender won eight bouts in a row following a June 2021 split decision defeat to two-division titlist Paul Butler in Bolton, England.
Calixto was perfect through 23 pro fights before having to settle for a split draw with his countryman.
The IBF junior bantamweight title has remained vacant since last fall.
Argentina’s Fernando Martinez, 17-0 (9 KOs), retained the IBF belt and won the WBA strap in a July 7 unanimous decision win over Kazuto Ioka, 31-3-1 (16 KOs), at Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo. The title-unifying win came with the caveat that Martinez would have to next face Garcia as his IBF mandatory challenger.
The opportunity for a far more lucrative rematch with Ioka prompted Martinez to leave behind the IBF belt. He was due to defend the WBA belt versus Ioka last December 31 but fell ill during fight week and was forced to withdraw.
Martinez and Ioka are now set to meet on May 11 at Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
WBC and lineal champion Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, 21-0 (14 KOs), and WBO claimant Phumelela Cafu, 11-0-3 (8 KOs), are the division’s other two titlists. As previously reported by BoxingScene, they are set to meet on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
Garcia-Calixto II will mark the first boxing event in Zacatecas since last August and the most notable fight to land in the nearly 600-year-old city in north central Mexico.
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