Oscar Duarte may have lost his clearest route to a world title without ever stepping into the ring for it.
The IBF is trying to fill the vacant 140-pound title after Richardson Hitchins moved down from the belt, and Duarte (31-2-1, 23 KOs) was positioned for a shot against fellow contender Lindolfo Delgado. The problem is that Duarte and Delgado are longtime stablemates under trainer Robert Garcia, and Garcia says the fight is unlikely to happen.
“I had dinner with Pepe Gomez and Memo Rocha, Duarte’s promoter and manager, and we are all determined that Duarte will not continue the IBF route against Lindolfo Delgado unless Duarte says otherwise,” said Robert Garcia. The Ring.
“But I don’t see that happening because we work together now. We all agreed that Duarte will go the WBC route for his next title shot.”
Garcia also suggested that Duarte’s recent split decision win over Angel Fierro was affected by months of non-stop preparation after Duarte’s planned February title fight against Hitchins collapsed hours before fight night when Hitchins fell ill.
“What affected Duarte in the Fierro fight was that he came off rugby training camps without a break. He was overtrained, so his performance was not as good as we expected,” said Robert.
“It affected his physical abilities. He got more tired than he should have. I think that was a problem, but he dug deep, soaked it up and did what it took to get the win.”
The comments came after Duarte struggled through a tougher-than-expected fight against Fierro in Las Vegas earlier this month. Fierro was 3.4 pounds overweight for the fight, but Garcia said Duarte’s team still moved forward because they didn’t want another cancellation after the failed Hitchins fight.
Garcia also made it clear he believes Duarte would already be a world champion if the Hitchins match had gone ahead.
“I have no doubt that Oscar would beat Hitchins in February and be a world champion, just knowing how he was prepared going into that fight,” Garcia said.
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Last updated on 2026/05/18 at 11:05
