By Miguel Rivera
Guadalajara, Mexico - WBC President Jose Sulaiman was ringside for Saul Alvarez's twelfth round stoppage of Ryan Rhodes on Saturday night. Don Jose took some time to explain the situation with the WBC middleweight championship. Marco Antonio Rubio, the WBC's top challenger, and WBC Diamond champion Sergio Martinez, are both trying to fight the recognized WBC champion at 160-pounds, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Sulaiman has granted Chavez the option of making a voluntary defense, which may happen on November 19 against contender Peter Manfredo Jr. The winner of that fight would have to face Martinez, and not Rubio.
Sulaiman corrects some of information being reported and states that Rubio's April fight with David Lemieux was "not a final elminator for a mandatory position." In winning that fight over Lemieux, Sulaiman says Rubio was granted a very high ranking in the top ten but he is "not the mandatory challenger."
Chavez was granted the opportunity to make a voluntary defense with the understanding that he would face the Diamond champion, Sergio Martinez, in his next defense, which may happen some time in 2012. Sulaiman claims Chavez and his team have agreed to that scenario, but whether the fight actually happens is another story.
