By Jhonny Gonzalez
The president of the WBC, Jose Sulaiman, says his organization may possibly order a mandatory fight between WBC 154-pound champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KOs), and the highest available contender, Ryan Rhodes (43-4, 31 KOs) of the UK. Rhodes won an eliminator in 2009 when he knocked out Jamie Moore. For unknown reason, the British boxer has been kept on the sidelines while others have received opportunities for that title. The fight would happen on June 18 in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Sulaiman said that out of the top five contenders, only Rhodes is available.
"The British boxer Rhodes is dangerous and he earned his position and it would be a pretty tough fight for the Canelo. Rhodes is the highest ranked available contender, and the others can not receive this opportunity for various situations. We can do an eliminator between Vanes [Martirosyan] and someone else to create an official challenger, but the most viable option is for Canelo to defend against the highest available contender," Sulaiman told Sal Rodriguez.