The middle weight boxing superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez was surprisingly stripped of one of his titles.
The IBF took their belt from the Mexican’s hands for not managing to come to terms with Ukraine’s Sergiy Derevyanchenko for a mandatory defense. The two sides had time to 3 PM EST yesterday for reaching an agreement, but the deal was never closed. At first the negotiations were going well, according to reports, but a serious difference in the financial demands made the match impossible. According to multiple sources, now the Ukrainian, known as “The Technician”, will face IBF’s No.2 Genadiy Golovkin, while Alvarez is being set up for a unification bout against WBO champion Demetrius Andrade.
“We are extremely disappointed at the IBF for forcing the world’s best fighter to relinquish his world title. We have been in serious negotiations with Sergiy Derevyanchenko’s promoter. We offered his team an unprecedented amount of money for a fighter of his limited stature and limited popularity, but the truth is that I’m now certain they never had any intention of making a deal,” De La Hoya, Golden Boy promoter, said in a statement.
