By Luke Furman
WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson is scheduled to defend his title, but there is now word on the opponent.
He is currently under an order to make a mandatory defense against Eleider Alvarez.
But in several recent interviews, Stevenson made it clear that there wasn't any money in fighting Alvarez, so he would rather face WBA "regular' champion Badou Jack or IBF, WBA Super, WBO champion Andre Ward.
Alvarez has been the mandatory challenger since the fall of 2015, but others have skipped over him to face Stevenson in the ring.
Stevenson was last seen in action back in June, when he easily won his rematch with Andrzej Fonfara. There was a pre-existing order, directing the winner of that fight to face Alvarez in the fall.
Alvarez (23-0, 11 KOs) and Stevenson share the same adviser in Al Haymon and the same promoter in Yvon Michel.
Since Stevenson (29-1, 24 KOs) captured he title to defeat Chad Dawson after only 76 seconds of action on June 8, 2013 - he's only made a single mandatory defense of the belt.
Michel is trying to resolve the situation.
"Eleider can sleep quietly," said Michel to the Montreal Journal. "He will be consulted in any discussions that will take place in the coming weeks. He will have the last word."
On the other hand, Michel did not rule out the scenario where Stevenson could face Jack or Ward in a unification. The promoter has already placed venues in Canada on hold in the final three months of the year.
"We can not prevent Adonis from dreaming of a unification," Michel said. "He always talked about wanting to make one. On the other hand, he must understand that he has responsibilities towards Alvarez."
"I was asked to book dates in October, November and December [for Stevenson's return], and that's what I did. One thing is certain, he will fight here [in Canada]."
Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org.
