ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Johnny Tapia has been stripped of his International Boxing Federation featherweight championship because of a flap over mandatory defense of his title.

Tapia (52-2-2) was required to defend his IBF title by Oct. 27, but he has scheduled a nontitle bout Nov. 2 in Las Vegas against Marco Antonio Barrera (59-2) of Mexico, said Daryl Peoples, ratings chairman for the IBF.

"The IBF rules say that no champion should engage in a bout within 60 days of a mandatory defense of the title," Peoples said Tuesday in a telephone interview from East Orange, N.J.

"The 60-day rule would have been violated when he (Tapia) fought Barrera," Peoples said.

Tapia, an Albuquerque native, won the belt in an April 27 decision over Manuel Medina in New York. It was his fifth world title.

The IBF declared Monday that the featherweight title was vacant, Peoples said.

Tapia would have had to pay a $20,000 nonrefundable fee for the right to request an extension on his mandatory defense, but there was no guarantee the extension would be granted.

"I'm at a loss to why these guys (the Tapia camp) didn't apply for an extension, or maybe the title wasn't that important to Johnny," Peoples said. "We have to enforce our rule."

Tapia said in a news release issued Saturday that the IBF had notified him that it would strip him of his featherweight championship.

"I don't need the IBF to tell me that I'm a champion. My ring record proves it," he said.

Teresa Tapia, Tapia's wife and manager, said, "We are very disappointed with the turn of events with the IBF. This is something we did not foresee."

However, she said she and her husband do not regret the decision to fight Barrera.

Mike Mozes of Albuquerque, Tapia's attorney, said Tapia wanted to keep the IBF crown.

"We really wanted to look at the value of that title after the Barrera fight," Mozes said. "On the money side, we wanted to see if we could promote it, and was it a wise thing to do that."

Peoples said the IBF championships committee will schedule a fight for the featherweight title between the leading available contenders -- No. 1-ranked Juan Marquez of Mexico and Medina, who is ranked No. 2.

Mozes said the Tapia camp was talking with IBF officials in August -- before the Barrera fight was signed.

"We were trying to find out who the next available contender was," Mozes said.

Marquez was listed as the top contender throughout the summer, but he signed to fight outside the IBF.

Medina then was moved to the top spot, and the deadline for the mandatory defense was moved back with the change.

However, Marquez's scheduled fight was canceled, and the IBF again ranked him No. 1 and reinstated the original mandatory defense deadline of Oct. 27.

Tapia has formerly held World Boxing Organization and World Boxing Association bantamweight and IBF and WBO junior bantamweight titles.