The IBF officially scheduled a purse bid Tuesday for the bout between IBF 115-pound champion Willibaldo Garcia and third-ranked contender Andrew Moloney for March 5. The purse bid, which was first reported by BoxingScene.com, could be canceled if representatives for Garcia and Moloney reach an agreement beforehand.

Australia’s Moloney is the mandatory challenger for Garcia’s junior bantamweight championship because, as is often the case with the IBF, the No. 1 and 2 spots in its rankings are vacant.

Garcia (23-6-2, 13 KOs) secured the IBF belt by winning a split decision against fellow Mexican Rene Calixto (24-1-1, 10 KOs) on May 23.

Perez was scheduled to defend his title against Kenshiro Teraji on “The Ring V: Night of the Samurai” card December 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. An illness caused Garcia to withdraw from their bout, which was abruptly canceled December 26, after Garcia and Teraji made weight.

Teraji is the IBF’s fifth-ranked contender for Garcia’s belt. The IBF denied the petition that was filed on behalf of Japan’s Teraji (25-2, 16 KOs) to have his fight with Garcia rescheduled next.

Moloney (28-4, 18 KOs) didn’t want to continue waiting to fight the Garcia-Teraji winner, which is why his fight against Garcia will happen next.

“Willibaldo was supposed to fight me in his first defense, but his team asked for an exemption to fight Teraji,” Moloney told The Ring last month. “The IBF let that fight go ahead as long as it was on December 27 and no later, with no more exemptions. That fight was obviously canceled, so Willibaldo will have to fight me next.”

The IBF mandated that Garcia must defend his title against Moloney no later than June 25.

Although Moloney, 35, is excited to get a shot at Perez’s red and gold belt, San Antonio’s Rodriguez is somewhere shaking his head. The 26-year-old star, ranked No. 4 on The Ring’s pound-for-pound list, added Fernando Martinez’s WBA strap to his Ring, WBC and WBO 115-pound crowns November 22 at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Immediately after stopping Martinez in the 10th round, Rodriguez (23-0, 16 KOs) expressed interest in facing Garcia to become an undisputed champion. Moloney has said time and time again, however, since the IBF named him its mandatory challenger that he would not step aside to allow Rodriguez to face Garcia, even if Moloney were guaranteed a shot at the winner.

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