Esquiva Falcao will take on Vincenzo Gualtieri for the Vacant IBF Middleweight title on July 1st, 2023.
The two fighters will face each other after Gennady Golovkin vacated the belt after the IBF had ordered the Kazakh to defend his belt against Falcao.
In response, the IBF had initially ordered Falcao to face Michael Zerafa. However, the latter passed up the opportunity as Gualtieri was the next highest-ranked contender.
Esquiva Falcao vs. Vincenzo Gualtieri on July 1 For Vacant IBF Middleweight Title https://t.co/4cQtnS31f1 pic.twitter.com/S9HQ91So50
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) June 13, 2023
Both fighters arrive into the fight in good form. Falcao is undefeated with 30 wins and 20 KOs, as his last fight was a unanimous-decision win over Cristian Fabian Rios.
Equally, Gualtieri is undefeated in his 21 fights with 7 KOs, as he emerged victorious over Vincenzo Bevilacqua in his last ring appearance.
Gualtieri has a lot to play for since the last time that a German walked away with a middleweight world title was all the way back in 2013-14 with Felix Sturm.
With that being said, there is plenty on the line for both fighters.
Social Media Reaction
Let's bring this world belt to Brazil 🇧🇷 @trboxing @trboxeo @BobArum pic.twitter.com/ja03gmegj5
— Esquiva Falcao (@esquivafalcao) June 13, 2023
I hope you beat him, then we'll unify the titles. @CarlMoretti @BobArum @KlimasBoxing
— Janibek Alimkhanuly (@qazaqstyle) June 5, 2023