On February 18th, the IBF ordered Paddy Donovan and Karen Chukhadzhian to begin negotiations for an elimination bout for the IBF #1 position in the welterweight division. An agreement was not reached, so the IBF has ordered a purse bid scheduled for March 24th. Donovan, from Ireland, is 14-2 and coming off back-to-back losses to Lewis Crocker in IBF title fights. He is a deserving contender, however, as one loss was a controversial disqualification and one was by split decision. The Ukrainian Chukhadzhian is 26-3 with two losses to Jaron Ennis, now a two-division champion, down at junior welterweight. Chukhadzhian had two decent wins in 2025.