By Miguel Rivera

Last week, the World Boxing Council issued an order which set Friday, December 11th as the deadline for WBC middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and mandatory challenger Gennady "GGG" Golovkin to reach an agreement.

Before Canelo faced Miguel Cotto for the WBC middleweight on November 28th, the sanctioning body had ordered the winner to make an immediate defense against Golovkin.

Canelo plans to return to the ring in early May as part of Cinco De Mayo weekend. The opponent will not be Golovkin, according to what ESPN Deportes was advised by a source with knowledge of the WBC's announcement.

It appears both fighters are going take at least one fight before facing each other. Golovkin is potentially going to return in March. Mexican Independence Day weekend in September would be the expected period for their showdown.

Canelo (46-1-1, 32 KOs) and Golovkin (34-0, 31KOs) are at odds over the weight limit. Golovkin wants the full middleweight limit of 160-pounds, while Canelo preferred a catch-weight of 155.

Whether or not they face Canelo, trainer Abel Sanchez wants Golovkin to stay busy.

"For me as their coach, I'm going to prepare for the opponent that they tell me we are going to face, and if it's Canelo or some other fighter we won't have any trouble in preparing," Sanchez said. "The only thing I care about is that Gennady remains active. He can not go six or eight months without a fight because the public can forget what you did."