By Luke Furman
Promoter Yvon Michel would love to stage the mandatory fight between WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson and challenger Eleider Alvarez at the Montreal Olympic Stadium.
As of Thursday, Michel said his dream would be to stage that fight in that Montreal venue.
Although the whole thing is hypothetical, the solution of holding this boxing gala at the Olympic Stadium is still conceivable. The last boxing bout to take place at the former home of the Expos and the main theater of the 1976 Montreal Olympics, was the bout between Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard in 1980.
Initially, Showtime had suggested to GYM the date of December 16 to hold this event.
However, Eye of the Tiger Management and HBO could hold an event on the same date involving David Lemieux at La Place Bell in Quebec. Lemieux could fight WBO middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, but nothing is confirmed yet.
There is also the issue of trainer Marc Ramsay, who works with both Lemieux and Alvarez. Michel, who promotes Alvarez and Stevenson, does not want to place the veteran trainer in a position where it would cause a conflict.
"If it is confirmed that David Lemieux is fighting on HBO on December 16, we will choose another date," said Yvon Michel to TVA Sports.
"It would not be a service to boxing fans in Quebec to go head to head with two major events and have US TV shifted to two big events in the same city (same date). It does not make sense to do that."
"We do not want to put Marc Ramsay in an untenable situation, where he would have to choose between two of his best boxers (Alvarez and Lemieux). Besides, Marc has always been loyal, always faithful. I would not force him to choose, and then it has an impact on his relationship with either fighter."
The main choice of GYM would be to hold Stevenson-Alvarez at the Center Vidéotron de Québec.
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.