By Miguel Rivera
The president of the World Boxing Council (WBC), Mauricio Sulaiman, is in very high spirits, because he expects a "boxing classic" when Canelo Alvarez challenges IBO, WBC, WBA middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (38-0-1, 34 KOs) in their highly anticipated rematch.
A few days ago, a deal was finalized for September 15th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
After weeks of tense negotiations, where the fight fell apart at least three times, a deal was reached between both sides.
They first collided in September of 2017, at the same Las Vegas venue, and the contest ended in a controversial twelve round split draw.
A rematch was scheduled for May 5th, and then fell apart when Canelo (49-1-2, 34 KOs) tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol.
When their negotiations fell apart, Sulaiman was pushing hard for Canelo and Golovkin to reach an agreement.
"We have to celebrate the fact that an agreement was reached. I am sure that all the conflicts, as you say, are already in the past and now we have to concentrate on what is really worthwhile - which is the fight," said Sulaiman to ESPN Deportes.
"This second fight has everything to become a boxing classic, because we are talking about two fighters of the highest level of technical quality and popularity. The first fight was sensational, it was close and now that they have met and already measured each other in the ring, they will have the opportunity to adjust and do what is necessary to win."
"I'm sure it's going to be a great fight as expected, and if it's a huge fight - then the opportunity opens up for a third."
Finally, Sulaiman celebrated that all of the parties involved had the patience to reach an agreement despite all of the existing pressure.
"We live in a different world, in which the social networks play an important role on a daily basis and that causes athletes and promoters to constantly be in the media and feel pressure. That, sometimes, distorts the possibility of making decisions in a timely manner."
