IBF orders Canelo Alvarez to face Sergiy Derevyanchenko by August 4th

Canelo Alvarez’s newest belt, lifted from Daniel Jacobs on May 4th, had some baggage attached in the form of IBF #1 contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko, whom the sanctioning body has ordered Canelo to face “on or before August 4th.” The two camps have the customary one-month negotiation period and will go to a purse bid if they fail to come to terms by June 15th.

According to the ESPN article, Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KO) had intended to make his next defense on September 14th; he’s competed on Mexican Independence Day weekend for most of the last 10 years, including his two fights with Gennady Golovkin, his knockout of Liam Smith, and his loss to Floyd Mayweather. This fight would also interfere with a “GGG” trilogy and a unification with the winner of Demetrius Andrade-Maciej Sulecki on June 29th.

It’s a bit of a shame that there’s so much in the way, because this is a solid matchup. Derevyanchenko (13-1, 10 KO) is a top middleweight despite coming up just short against Jacobs and would definitely give Canelo a good fight. We’ll see whether Canelo gets an extension or exception; either way, things are going to get complicated.