On December 18, 2024, the IBF ordered Christian Mbilli and  Kevin Lele Sadjo to begin negotiations for a heavyweight eliminator to determine the IBF's mandatory contender in the super middleweight division. Negotiations were to be concluded on or before January 2nd. An agreement was not reached within the time frame allowed. Therefore, the IBF has ordered a purse bid to determine the promotional rights and boxers' purses for the but. It is scheduled for Thursday, January 30th at 12 noon. Mbilli, a Frenchman based in Canada, is 28-0 and has been considered a future champion for some time. He is coming off a win over respected Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Sadjo is a 24-0, bori n in Cameroon and fights out of France. He had three decent wins in 2024. The current IBF heavyweight champion is little-known William Scull, who eked out a highly controversial decision over Vladimir Shishkin to win a title stripped away from the division's true world champion, Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.