Breaking news concerning unified champion Canelo Alvarez’ IBF title situation.
Unified middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez may be in a bind concerning the IBF title he won off of Daniel Jacobs on May 4!
According to Jeanette Salazar, the IBF Director of Public Relations, a purse bid between Alvarez and #1 contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko will be ordered on July 9 to take place on July 23 at their offices in New Jersey.
After losing his first bid at the title against Jacobs in October 2018, Derevyanchenko defeated Jack Culcay in April to once again put himself in position to be mandated for the title opportunity.
There was an incident previously this year where the IBF had put out information about ordering this same bout right after Alvarez defeated Jacobs. The organization then admitted to making an error and stated they would not mandate that bout. However, it now seems this information is a legit attempt to push the fight into fruition.
The article where the IBF admits the error can be found here:
UPDATE: IBF Admits Error on Alvarez vs Derevyanchenko Ruling
If Golden Boy doesn’t send a representative to the purse bid, then team Derevyanchenko would win by default. This would mean a fight between both camps would have to take place within ninty days.
When asked if Canelo can still request an exemption, Salazar responded that it’s too late since the bid has already been ordered.
In the event Alvarez is stripped or decides to relinquish the title, then the next two available leading contenders would fight for the vacant title. This means Derevyanchenko could face former champion Gennady Golovkin in a fight that had previously been expected when the latter still held the IBF belt after a draw with Alvarez in 2017.
The IBF had decided to hold off on mandating the fight in order to sanction a May 5, 2018 rematch with Alvarez.
As it stands right now, Golden Boy and their biggest money maker still have options and could shift gears, then proceed with a fight against the mandatory challenger.
3kingsboxing will continue to monitor this story as things continue to develop.
By: Garrisson Bland
