World Boxing Council president Mauricio Sulaiman is confident that the middleweight title fight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin will happen in September.
Recent reports indicated that there is a chance the fight might not push through because the two parties have contrasting weight preferences. Canelo wants the fight at 155 pounds, while Golovkin is firm on his stance that it should take place at the middleweight limit of 160 pounds.
But when asked about the highly-anticipated bout between the two middleweights, Sulaiman said that they are not thinking of what people are saying, insisting that the fight will happen after the upcoming bouts of Golovkin and Alvarez in the first quarter of this year.
"We don't speculate with comments of third-parties as the WBC is guided only by facts," Sulaiman told BoxingScene. "The idea and the plan is to have the expected fight after their voluntary defenses in April or May."
Alvarez took the WBC middleweight title with a unanimous decision win against Miguel Cotto in November, while Golovkin has been the mandatory challenger over the past several months. WBC allowed both fighters to have one more bout before their mandatory title fight later this year.
If Alvarez declines to defend his title against Golovkin, the Mexican will be stripped off his belt and his Kazakh counterpart will be crowned champion. In the event Golovkin decides not to face Alvarez, he will lose his status as mandatory challenger and Canelo will face a different challenger.
But while it remains unclear whether or not the two parties are willing to give into each other's demand regarding the weight issue, Sulaiman insisted that both camps have shown interest in finalizing the bout soon.
"The fight between Saul and Gennady is natural showdown," said Sulaiman, who added that big fights like the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather faced numerous hurdles before it eventually happened. "They know each other and have talked directly. They already want to get inside the ring to fight. They both want the fight."
Earlier this month, Golden Boy Promotions president Oscar De La Hoya, who promotes Alvarez, sounded like they have no choice but to face Golovkin, knowing that Canelo will be stripped of his title if they decline.
"Obviously and inevitably this fight between Saul and Gennady is going to happen," De La Hoya said. "No matter what and we are confident that it will take place."
