By Jake Donovan

The respective camps for Arthur Abraham and Gilberto Ramirez made the most of their extended negotiation period, as the two sides are close to reaching terms for a mandated super middleweight title fight showdown.

Once finalized, the bout will be contested for the World Boxing Organization (WBO) super middleweight title. Abraham will make the sixth defense of the title he regained in March ’14, while the unbeaten Ramirez comes in as the mandatory challenger for his first world title fight.

“There is not an official agreement yet, but I’ve been notified that a deal has been reached in principle,” WBO President Francisco ‘Paco’ Valcarcel informed BoxingScene.com in a phone interview Saturday afternoon. “They are close enough to where a purse bid is no longer required.”

(UPDATE: Valcarcel has since stated that the purse bid will remain in effect until a written agreement is presented to the WBO)

Both sides were well aware of this fight waiting in the balance heading into their previous respective ring appearances.

Abraham (44-4, 29KOs) is coming off of a hard-fought 12-round decision over Martin Murray in Hannover, Germany last November. The fight that came less than 24 hours after Ramirez – the unbeaten mandatory challenger from Mazatlan, Mexico - cruised to a 10-round decision win over Netherlands’ Gevorg Khatchikian in a truTV-televised headliner in Las Vegas.

Negotiations began shortly after the Thanksgiving holidays, with both sides making several concessions in efforts to bring the fight to reality.

A purse bid hearing was originally scheduled for January 8 at WBO headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico. However, Sauerland Event (Abraham’s promoter) and Top Rank (Ramirez’ promoter) believed they were far enough along in talks to where an extension was requested – and granted.

The WBO agreed to push back the date to January 12 in New York City, which worked better for both sides even if a deal could not be reached. Top Rank will be in town to host a news conference formally announcing a February 27 HBO-televised doubleheader at Madison Square Garden Theatre. Sauerland Event would have been able to attend the Jan. 12 session far more easily than to send a representative to San Juan on Jan. 8 and then immediately return to Germany, where the company is hosting a super middleweight rematch between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni de Carolis.

While Sauerland no longer has to book travel and Top Rank can focus squarely on Tuesday’s news conference, there remains the part of securing a date and location to ultimately satisfy all parties.

“This is a fight we would really love to get for Gilberto and one that we hope to bring to the United States,” Bob Arum, Ramirez' stateside promoter told BoxingScene.com over the holidays.

An ideal backdrop for the fight – in Top Rank’s view – would be as the chief support on the April 9 HBO Pay-Per-View event headlined by the rubber match between Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley Jr. While neither side will commit to a location, there exists strong indication that it will land on this very show, with a formal announcement expected to come in the next several days.

With or without the fight being added to the April 9 show, a Mexico-themed undercard is in store. Arum informed BoxingScene.com’s Steve Kim of plans to have unbeaten rising young stars Jose Ramirez and Oscar Valdez in supporting capacity.

The ability to showcase Gilberto Ramirez – whom Arum views as the total package given his fighting style, good looks and outgoing personality – on the card would be the icing on the cake, especially in putting him in a position to become the first boxer ever from Mexico to win a super middleweight title.

“The major market in boxing is the Hispanic audience,” Arum notes. “The overall largest percentage of boxing consumers are Hispanic. If he can beat Arthur Abraham - with his looks and personality - this kid can really become a major star.”

Representatives from Sauerland Event were unavailable as this goes to publish, due to an onsite commitment for its aforementioned show in Offenburg, Germany.

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox