By Jhonny Gonzalez

Former WBC champion and future hall-of-famer, Juan Manuel Marquez, is shaking his head at the the WBC's decision to sanction Saul Alvarez vs. Matthew Hatton for the vacant WBC 154-pound title. Their clash takes place on March 5 in California. Marquez is wondering how Alvarez became the manadatory contender without fighting other ranked fighters to gain the spot.

Marquez calls the fight a "violation of the WBC's rules" because Hatton is not ranked by the WBC at junior middleweight. He is ranked at "number five" at 147-pounds. Two fighters in the top six at 154, Ryan Rhodes and Vanes Martirosyan, claim the WBC never contacted them about fighting Alvarez for the title.

"They should give the championships to those who really deserve it, those who climbed the rankings. 'Canelo' Alvarez did not have any fights with any ranked junior middleweights and suddenly he's number one. Even more, I find it absurd that he's given a title shot against someone who is not even ranked...that violates the rules, because it's supposed be against the highest rated available contender," Marquez told Sal Rodriguez.