After being ordered to fight for the vacant IBF 135-pound crown on September 7 and failing to come to terms, the sanctioning body is giving both parties until October 20 to reach an agreement. If a deal isn’t in place, the IBF will schedule a purse bid.

The Ring’s No. 5 lightweight is hoping to nab his first world title after falling short earlier this year against Raymond Muratalla via majority decision.

Since then, Cruz (7-1, 4 KOs), ranked No. 3 in the IBF, picked up a quick and devastating third-round stoppage win over Abraham Montoya on July 18. He was initially supposed to fight Albert Bell until the 33-year-old became a late replacement to face Abdullah Mason for his WBO lightweight title on July 4.

Subkhankulov (12-0, 6 KOs), a 34-year-old from Ufa, Russia, is ranked No. 2 in the IBF, but he hasn’t fought the stiffest competition. He did score two stoppage victories in 2026 over Virgel Vitor and Bakhodur Usmonov.

Muratalla, 29, successfully defended his IBF title one last time against Robson Conceicao by wide unanimous decision on August 1. Shortly after, he vacated his crown and moved up in weight.

Once that was official, Muratalla (25-0, 17 KOs) was placed as the No. 1 contender for Ring and WBO junior welterweight champion Shakur Stevenson.