At one point in late 2017, Hekkie Budler was supposed to have a rematch with then-world champion Milan Melindo, but now Budler could soon be facing the man who defeated Melindo on Japan's big New Year's Eve show last year: unified light flyweight champion Ryoichi Taguchi.
Taguchi currently holds the WBA "super" and IBF light flyweight titles, winning the IBF title from Melindo on December 31, 2017. Before that fight, Melindo was originally ordered to fight Budler for the IBF title. Now that Taguchi holds the IBF title, Budler's mandatory challenge for the title still remains.
Unfortunately, both sides were unable to negotiate a deal by the IBF's imposed deadline on March 16 and so the fight will go to a purse bif, according to ESPN's Dan Rafael. The purse bid is scheduled for March 27 at the IBF offices in Springfield, New Jersey., but a deal could still be made between the two fighters before the purse bid happens.
Budler, a former IBO champion, narrowly lost to Melindo by split decision (113-115, 117-110, 115-112) on September 16, 2017, but a rematch was immediately ordered by the IBF. Instead of following through with the rematch, Melindo decided to try and unify the WBA and IBF titles against Taguchi. The unification bout, the last one of 2017, took place in Japan with Taguchi picking up a unanimous decision win. The card was the main event of Japan's traditional New Year's Eve show, usually one of the biggest boxing cards of the year in the country.
