The IBF has instructed representatives for two southpaws to arrange a 12-round elimination match that would determine its mandatory challenger for junior middleweight champ Bakhram Murtazaliev.

The Ring has confirmed that Erickson Lubin and Ardreal Holmes are both interested in taking this path toward a title shot. Boxing News first reported that the teams of Lubin and Holmes have been informed to begin negotiating.

Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs), who is the IBF’s No. 3 contender in its 154-pound rankings, turned down a chance to fight for Murtazaliev’s title October 17 in Lubin’s hometown of Orlando, Florida.

Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) instead annihilated Australia’s Tim Tszyu (24-2, 17 KOs) that night at Caribe Royale Orlando. The Russian champion withstood Tszyu’s early barrage of punches, dropped the 7-1 favorite four times overall and stopped him in the third round of their scheduled 12-rounder, which was streamed by Amazon’s Prime Video.

Holmes (16-0, 6 KOs), a left-hander fighter from Flint, Michigan, is the IBF’s seventh-ranked junior middleweight contender. He was the leading available contender to battle Lubin based on higher-rated contenders having fights scheduled or injuries.

The top two positions in the IBF’s junior middleweight ratings are open. Whoever wins the Lubin-Holmes match, assuming their handlers strike a deal, would be ranked No. 1 by the IBF and deemed Murtazaliev’s mandatory obligation.

Promoters Tom Brown (Lubin) and Dmitriy Salita (Holmes) were given until 5 p.m. ET Sunday by the IBF to officially confirm their interest in scheduling Lubin-Holmes.

Regardless, the 30-year-old Holmes has to beat Haiti’s Edwine Humaine Jr. (9-0, 7 KOs) on Thursday night in Flint to keep his place in the Lubin bout.

DAZN will stream Holmes-Humaine, the 10-round main event of a 10-bout card promoted by Salita’s company, from Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center. The streaming service’s coverage of the Holmes-Humaine undercard is set to begin at 6 p.m. ET in the United States.

Lubin, 29, will end a long hiatus if he faces Holmes at some point early in 2025. He hasn’t boxed since he upset then-undefeated southpaw Jesus Ramos (21-1, 17 KOs) by unanimous decision on the Canelo Alvarez-Jermell Charlo undercard in September 2023 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.