By Mark Vester
WBO junior flyweight champion Ivan Calderon (32-0, 6KOs) has been cleared by doctors to return to the ring in February. No opponent is set, but WBA interim champion Cesar Canchila (27-1, 21KOs) is still the frontrunner opponent for the fight. Calderon was given a medical suspension by the boxing commission in Puerto Rico after suffering a deep cut in the middle of his forehead due to a clash of heads with Hugo Cazares on August 30.
"I am in the beginning of my training, I'm still only running. We are not working hard, right now we are working to get my conditioning in order and to drop some weight. All of the hard work will take place in January," Calderon told Primera Hora. "I've already sparred twice and thank God I have not felt any pain [in the area of the cut]."
Vice president of Puerto Rico Best Boxing, Peter Rivera, who co-promotes Calderon with Top Rank, says the last two weeks of December have not been a good time to begin negotiations to secure Calderon an opponent. He told the paper that even phone calls to make a fight with Canchila went unreturned. Rivera says that a lot of fighters turn down the opportunity to fight Calderon.
"We have offered $120,000 to the champions of this division to unify the titles, but they always decide to take easier fights where they win $40,000," Rivera said.
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