David Benavidez probably will be allowed by the WBC to reschedule his voluntary title defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.

Benavidez’s mandatory defense versus Avni Yildirim is due, but Benavidez and Angulo were scheduled to fight April 18 in Phoenix. Benavidez (22-0, 19 KOs) signed a contract for that optional title defense because the number one-rated Yildirim suffered a shoulder injury that rendered him temporarily unavailable to battle Benavidez.

Showtime was scheduled to televise Benavidez-Angulo on April 18 from Arizona Federal Theatre in Benavidez’s hometown. The bout between Colombia’s Angulo (26-1, 22 KOs), the WBC’s 15th-ranked contender, and Benavidez was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus crisis.   

“Benavidez had a signed contract for April 18th, so we’re going to contact all the parties and confirm if they want to proceed with the voluntary defense,” Mauricio Sulaiman, the president of the WBC, told BoxingScene.com. “That could be an option [for Benavidez], or he can go directly to the mandatory. We do not want to hurt any party. For example, that fight was going to be in Arizona. So, if the conditions are right and they can stage that voluntary in Arizona, we will most likely accept it because it was Yildirim who was injured and had to postpone the mandatory. It was not the champion’s fault. And it was nobody’s fault that this pandemic has hit the whole world. It would have to go to a vote of the WBC board. My gut feeling would be that if they request to have the voluntary rescheduled, that would be highly likely to happen.”

The winner of the Benavidez-Anthony Dirrell fight for the WBC championship September 28 was obligated to box Yildirim next. Benavidez beat Dirrell (33-2-1, 24 KOs) by ninth-round knockout at Staples Center in Los Angeles to regain the title that was stripped from Benavidez after he tested positive for cocaine in August 2018.

Dirrell defeated Turkey’s Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs) for the then-vacant WBC belt by technical decision in February 2019 at The Armory in Minneapolis. A cut Dirrell suffered above his left eye in the seventh round caused a ringside doctor to stop their scheduled 12-round, 168-pound championship match in the 10th round.

Dirrell was winning by the same score, 96-94, on two scorecards when that fight was stopped. He trailed 98-92 on the other scorecard.

They went to the scorecards because Dirrell’s cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.