By Miguel Rivera

World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman is confident the fight between WBC middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (46-1-1, 32KOs) and WBC interim middleweight champion Gennady 'GGG' Golovkin (34-0-31KOs) will happen later this year.

Sulaiman feels that all the comments, anticipation and speculation, will only increase the magnitude of the fight.

The WBC has ordered the two boxers to face each other after their upcoming bouts. Canelo will return on May 7th against an opponent to be determined. Golovkin, who also holds the WBA/IBF/IBO world titles, will be back on April 23rd.

Other big fights of the past have taken some time to come together and he says Canelo-Golovkin falls into that category.

Both fighters have advised the WBC that they are willing to go forward with the mandatory fight in the fall. The sanctioning body has warned both fighters that if either withdraws from the stipulated contest, they are going to lose their standing as WBC champion. If Golovkin withdraws, then Canelo will receive a new mandatory challenger. If Canelo withdraws, then he will be stripped and Golovkin will be elevated to the status of 'full' champion.

 “There have been fights that have simmered, heated and broiled in various ways. It took some time to finalize Chavez-Camacho....6 years.  Mayweather-Pacquiao - 6 years, Canelo-Cotto 2 years,” Sulaiman said.

“The fight between Saul and Gennady is natural showdown. They know each other and have talked directly. They already want to get inside the ring to fight. They both want the fight. We don’t speculate with comments of third-parties as the WBC is guided only by facts. The idea and the plan is to have the expected fight after their voluntary defenses in April or May."