DiBella Entertainment won the purse bid that will stage the IBF Jr. Lightweight title bout between Jose Pedraza and Stephen Smith, according to Dab Rafael of espn.com.
Last month, DiBella and Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who promotes Smith, made a deal for the bout, which was tentatively scheduled for March 26. However, when the fight was not officially scheduled by the IBF deadline for signed contracts to be returned, another purse bid was ordered.
Usually, when that happens, it is because of a disagreement between promoters. However, this time it was over a disagreement between DiBella and Pedraza, who declined to sign for the fight.
Hearn told ESPN that he and DiBella revisited their agreement and that is why he did not bid.
“I didn’t bid because we already reached an agreement with Lou a few days ago,” Hearn said. “We are happy with the package. The purse bid number is irrelevant because of our private agreement.”
