The August 16 bout between Andrzej Fonfara and Gabriel Campillo, which will take place on ESPN Friday Night Fights from U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, has been officially sanctioned as an IBF light heavyweight title semifinal eliminator. The IBF title is currently held by Bernard Hopkins, who is scheduled to defend on October 19 against Karo Murat.
Fonfara (23-2, 13 KO) and Campillo (22-5-1, 9 KO) are ranked Nos. 4 and 7, respectively, by the IBF at this time. The other semifinal will reportedly pit Eduard Gutknecht against Cedric Agnew, currently the fifth- and sixth-rated contenders by the IBF. The winners would then meet, probably sometime in early 2014, to determine a mandatory challenger.
Hopkins, who turns 49 in January 2014, may or may not be around long enough to ever face the winner of this tournament. Murat is his mandatory, so that's one of those out of the way for a while, and Hopkins should carry enough sway to get exemptions as he closes his career, if indeed he keeps the title and all that.