By Jake Donovan
Even as progress is made between promoters Yvon Michel and Kathy Duva in getting their fighters in the ring, something comes along to put their relationship right back at square one.
The two sides managed to work out a deal for Eleider Alvarez and Isaac Chilemba to meet in November, with the winner to be named the mandatory challenger for World light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. The fight was initally packaged as a light heavyweight doubleheader, to be paired up with a showdown between unbeaten contender Artur Beterbiev (Michel's GYM Promotions) and Sullivan Barrera (Duva's Main Events).
The winner of that fight would be come next in line for a crack at undefeated unified titlist Sergey Kovalev. However, getting the fight has proven difficult and perhaps even more so even in the event it goes to the currently scheduled October 5 purse bid hearing.
No matter the purse bid result, Barrera is limited in where he can fight doing to his current immigration status, dating back to when he arrived to the United States from his native Cuba.
Barrera (16-0, 9KOs) has fought in the United States and Puerto Rico since turning pro in 2009. For the moment he is unable to step foot in Canada until his immigration but hopes that won't hold up a potential showdown with Beterbiev (9-0, 9KOs), a Russian slugger who now lives in Montreal.
"If I could travel to Canada I would but I have some legalities that my team is currently in the process of getting cleared up," Barrera noted through his press agent. "I am very sorry to hear that for some reason Artur Beterbiev isn't willing to fight me in the United States. The biggest fights are here and it's funny that his last fight was in the U.S. and yet he won't fight me here."
Beterbiev is coming off of a 7th round knockout of Alexander Johnson in June. The fight marked his stateside debut, taking place on the undercard of Erislandy Lara's 12-round win over Delvin Rodriguez in Chicago, with both fights airing live on Spike TV.
After the fight, the undefeated two-time Olympic participant was offered the chance to face Kovalev for the title. Despite initially expressing a willingness to move in that direction, his team instead opted for a little more seasoning - he still only has nine pro fights, after all - and have decided that one more final eliminator would do the trick in getting him championship ready.
That can't happen, though, without an opponent. Barrera was the first (if not only one) on a list of contenders willing to face him, although with that comes the hanidcap of where he can travel.
"I've been wanting a big fight for years and I am willing to fight Beterbiev knowing that the purse is in his favor 75/25," insists Barrera, whose last win came in July when he stopped Hakim Zoulikha in eight rounds. "Artur, you have fought in the U.S. Don't let your promoter block you from the fight that so many fans have been asking for. Let's give the fans what they want, a great fight and the winner gets the opportunity to make history."
Of course, the best way to ensure you gert the fight wherever you want is for your promoter to win the purse bid. With that Main Events will have to not only outbid GYM Promotions (Michel's company), but put up a sizeable enough amount to where it likely exceeds what such an event could make back in return - which brings the fight back to making the most sense in Canada.
Should it come to that, Barrera's immigration is expected to be cleared up prior to next spring. It's possible that Beterbiev will have already moved on and established himself as the leading contender, if not already fighting Kovalev for the title by then.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene
