By Jake Donovan
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has been granted a little more time to decide his next move.
The reigning World middleweight champion remains in talks for a mandatory title defense versus top-rated challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko as three sources have informed BoxingScene.com of a modified—but undisclosed—deadline to conclude such talks.
Two previously scheduled purse bids ordered by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) have been postponed due to ongoing negotiations, along with three more deadlines set beyond that point. The latest concession was granted, according to sources, due to significant progress made in hopes of all parties involved getting what they want.
Efforts to contact Golden Boy Promotions seeking contact went unreturned as this goes to publish. Lou DiBella, Derevyanchenko’s promoter declined comment.
Alvarez has been given marching orders by the IBF to either come to an agreement to honor his mandatory title defense or relinquish his title. The delay is not due to disinterest in making the fight, but rather tying up loose ends with sports streaming service DAZN, with whom he signed a record-breaking $350 million contract last fall.
A major hang-up in moving forward with this fight was that it was never previously approved by DAZN, who would only greenlight light heavyweight titlist Sergey Kovalev or longtime divisional rival Gennadiy Golovkin as acceptable next opponents. It led to ongoing talks between DAZN brass and Golden Boy, with the hope of getting a firm commitment from Alvarez’s side on a third fight with Golovkin next up should he emerge victorious here.
That commitment has yet to come, although several false reports last week suggested that DAZN was ready to bend on that stance and allow the fight to happen sans conditions. Such rumors have since been dismissed outright, although the latest development suggesting that Alvarez is willing to give the platform what it wants in exchange for being able to keep his current belts in tow at least through fight night.
The pairing was met with turmoil from the moment the bout was formally announced by the IBF. Alvarez (52-1-2, 35KOs) was initially ordered to open negotiations just days after his three-belt unification win over Daniel Jacobs this past May in Las Vegas, Nev.
With the win and new title, Alvarez—already the recognized World (lineal) champion—inherited the mandatory title defense, which was ordered on May 15. A mea culpa was quickly offered by the New Jersey-based sanctioning body, noting that Alvarez was permitted a 30-day period to file a request to instead first make a voluntary title defense.
It was the hoped-for process by sports streaming service DAZN. With that pile of money has come demands from the platform, including his aforementioned clash with Jacobs in his first official fight under the pact (a knockout win over Rocky Fielding last December was secured external to the 10-fight contract).
DAZN brass was hoping to run with Alvarez on a September 14 show in Las Vegas—on the weekend celebrating Mexican Independence Day—preferably in a third fight with Golovkin, a former unified middleweight titlist whom the platform signed earlier this year.
Their previous two fights have also been staged on that particular weekend, fighting to a highly questionable draw in Sept. 2017 and with Alvarez taking a less controversial but still disputed majority decision in their rematch last September.
Talks for a third fight hit a wall for a number of reasons. Among them were Golovkin’s wish for the fight to take place anywhere but Vegas, where he’s only managed to win one of six combined scorecards in two fights where many felt he should be 2-0.
There’s also the issue of Alvarez’s disinterest in a third fight altogether. The Mexican icon has explored just about every other viable option, including moving up two divisions for a run at Kovalev and a light heavyweight title.
All the while, the aforementioned 30-day window expired without Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions ever notifying the IBF—formally or otherwise—their plans to seek a voluntary fight. That led back to his fight with Derevyanchenko being subject to a July 15 purse bid hearing, with that deadline having since been pushed back four more times.
So far, it continues to be worth the wait.
Derevyanchenko will get his second crack at a major title, although that was always going to be the case whether Alvarez agrees to the fight or relinquished the title. This time around, there stands a great chance that it will be versus a sitting champion—and the biggest name in the sport—rather than entering another vacant title fight.
The squat boxer-puncher from Ukraine was the mandatory challenger in waiting for Golovkin dating back to a 12th round knockout of Tureano Johnson in Aug. 2017. He sat and waited out Alvarez-Golovkin I and was prepared to allow the rematch to happen until their originally planned May 2018 sequel was postponed following two failed drug tests produced by Alvarez.
Rather than enter the mandatory defense in order to preserve the May date, Golovkin instead opted for semi-retired and overmatched Vanes Martirosyan whom he obliterated in two rounds.
The bout was blessed by the IBF with the condition that he next face Derevyanchenko. Instead, Golovkin dropped the belt in favor of the far more lucrative payday that came with the rematch versus Alvarez, although it resulted in his leaving the night beltless.
One month later came Derevyanchenko’s crack at the crown, following just short in dropping a 12-round split decision to Jacobs—his career-long stablemate (both are trained by Andre Rozier and managed by Keith Connolly)—in a spirited affair last October. He quickly moved back into the number-one contender position following a 12-round win over Germany’s Jack Culcay this past April.
All that’s left to decide is whether his next fight is the superfight he craves or for yet another vacant title at stake.
How much longer he has to wait, unfortunately, remains to be seen.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
