Alvarez ordered to face Derevyanchenko by IBF
I got to give the International Boxing Federation (IBF) credit for trying to help out Canelo Alvarez in looking for a dance partner for September 14. The new proud owner of the middleweight crown by winning in a unanimous decision over Daniel Jacobs back on Cinco de Mayo weekend was ordered by the IBF to take on mandatory challenger versus Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Tuesday.
In a report from Jake Donovan from Boxingscene.com, they received a letter that a purse bid hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 23 12:00 pm at IBF headquarters in Springfield, New Jersey. The IBF has formally notified the respective camps for Alvarez and Derevyanchenko via letter to them.
Alvarez (52-1-2, 35KOs) was first notified of the upcoming mandatory title defense by the IBF back on May 15. The initial notice was sent in haste, insisting he was locked into a mandatory defense whereas given a 30-day period where he could file an exemption to take on a voluntary defense instead.
The window expired, however, on June 15 with neither Alvarez nor Golden Boy Promotions making contact with the IBF or with Derevyanchko (13-1, 10KOs), whose team includes promoter Lou DiBella, manager Keith Connolly, and adviser Al Haymon.
In the litany of names coming out of the woodworks to take on Alvarez not named Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin have been the likes of Sergey Kovalev, Jaime Muguna and Demetrius Andrade. The IBF contender in Derevyanchenko was probably the one at the bottom of those listed and will more than likely result in Alvarez being stripped of the IBF strap he won from Jacobs. I mean, he dropped the World Boxing Council (WBC) belt in favor of a “Franchise” tag back in June to award the interim champion Jermall Charlo at the time, full champion.
If Alvarez is stripped of the title, Derevyanchenko will be in contention for the title against the #2 contender of the IBF title in Golovkin. Derevyanchenko earned this shot at the title by being Jack Culcay back in April on the Quillin-Truax card in Minnesota.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
