In the latest boxing news, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed that Canelo Alvarez and David Benavidez are ready to fight each other.

The news arrives after Benavidez’s victory over Demetrius Andrade. The latter’s team threw in the towel after round six to give Andrade his first loss. The win kept the Mexican Monster as the WBC super middleweight interim champion. This puts him in line to face Alvarez for his undisputed title.

Benavidez has spoken about his desire to fight Canelo as soon as possible, with a focus on Cinco de Mayo weekend. While that may be the case, Sulaiman refused to confirm if the interim champion will be called as the mandatory. If that were to happen, both boxers would have 90 days to agree on a deal. In response, this is what Sulaiman had to say.

Sulaiman On Canelo-Benavidez

"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," Sulaiman said 

Nevertheless, there is a chance that Alvarez will face Jaime Munguia on Cinco de Mayo Weekend. The latter is also an undefeated Mexican fighter who has been linked with fighting Alvarez as an alternative to the Mexican Monster.

Munguia may be undefeated, but the boxer has only had two fights at 168 despite being the number one ranked contender in the WBO. Not only that, but Benavidez has been the WBC mandatory for over a year.

And if Canelo were to fight Munguia, Benavidez has lined up Jermall Charlo instead. That would allow the former to face one of Alvarez’s potential opponents, thus removing the need for Canelo to face him if Benavidez came out with a dominant win.

In addition, it would keep Benavidez active as he aims to fight in May regardless. That is why the Mexican was ready to stay in the gym to dismiss worries that he couldn’t make 168 any longer after his admission about moving up to 175 in the future.

Benavidez On Charlo

"Right now, it’s in my smartest interests that I stay close to the weight and stay training. As much as he’s going to try to wait me out, it’s not going to work. I’m going to be ready for whenever that opportunity comes. Charlo said he wanted to fight me.

"I think that would be a good experience for me to take into the Canelo fight. I’m going to take to Al Haymon to see if we can probably get that Charlo fight. Like you said, I don’t think Canelo is going to fight me next. Maybe in September [2024]. So maybe if we get Charlo in there in the beginning of next year, and then we get Canelo in September, I think that would be a great move on our part,” Benavidez