BoxingScene.com has been advised by the World Boxing Organization that they officially ordered the negotiations between WBO junior welterweight champion Maurice Hooker (24-0-3, 16 KOs) and mandatory challenger Alex Saucedo. (28-0, 18 KOs).
The parties have twenty days (20) upon receipt of the order. If a deal is not reached, then a purse bid will be scheduled by the WBO.
The minimum acceptable bid will be $150,000.00 (One Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars). Any one of the parties involved may request a purse bid at any time during the negotiation process.
Last month at the Manchester Arena, Hooker traveled across the pond to pulled off an unexpected upset - with a twelve round split decision over Terry Flanagan to win the vacant WBO junior welterweight crown.
Flanagan, who held a world title at lightweight, was the heavy favorite going in, but seemed flat in the contest and had issues with Hooker's style.
Hooker recently finalized a co-promotional agreement with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom USA - and he will be featured on the DAZN, which is the new streaming service that Hearn inked a multi-year agreement with.
The World Boxing Super Series wanted Hooker for their upcoming junior welterweight tournament - but the WBO was not allowing him to bypass his mandatory defense.
On the other end, Saucedo was involved in a wild war with Lenny Z on June 30th in Oklahoma City. Both fighters were badly cut up and Saucedo saw himself in serious trouble during the fourth round.
Saucedo, who is trained by veteran coach Abel Sanchez, was able to weather the storm and stopped Lenny Z in the seventh round.
The negotiations will be interesting, since Saucedo is promoted by Top Rank, who have an exclusive content deal with ESPN.
