By Declan Taylor
SAUL ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and David Benavidez are both ‘committed and ready’ to fight each other but WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman refused to confirm when their mandatory clash will be called.
Benavidez secured the most significant victory of his career to date when he stopped Demetrius Andrade in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
It was his second successful defence of the WBC interim super-middleweight title and cemented his position as the No.1 contender for Canelo’s full title.
However, amid clamour for Benavidez and Canelo to meet on Cinco de Mayo weekend, the WBC have yet to officially call the interim champion as mandatory, which would then give the sides 90 days to discuss terms.
And Sulaiman revealed to Boxing News that they are in no major rush to make that call either.
He said: “This is a great fight. Both fighters are committed and ready and we will just play it by ear and administer the process correctly. I’m sure that will be best for everyone.
“We’re going to let Benavidez come back from his vacation. We’re going to address this matter with the responsibility and importance that it has.
“Major fights… big, big fights require specific situations to ensure that the fighters get what they deserve. We’re not going to push this to break it, we’re going to pull the sides together to try to make it into the best scenario for everyone.”
Canelo last fought in September when he cruised to a wide points decision against Jermell Charlo and, as is customary, the 33-year-old is expected to return on May 4.
And, when asked whether that date might come around too soon for Canelo-Benavidez, Sulaiman said: “I don’t speculate.
“There is so much speculation and fake news and people wanting to get attention from saying something to create controversy.”