Boxing News: WBC Grants Alvarez Extension With Legal Issues Far From Over

It appears the internal issues brewing from within the Canelo Alvarez side is far from over. The WBC was supposed to rule on the purse bid for the Alvarez vs. Avni Yildirim fight last Oct. 6 but it appears that will have to wait.

“Understanding the current situation of WBC Franchise champion, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, The WBC in good faith extends 15 days and for a final time the purse offer ceremony for the Alvarez vs Yildirim fight, for the vacant WBC Super Middleweight title,” the WBC said in an official statement from Boxingscene.

Alvarez has requested another extension which the WBC granted. This is seen more as a reprieve with the legal issues involving DAZN and Golden Boy Promotions being settled by then. Unfortunately, that seems pretty far off.

As mentioned in a previous post, Alvarez was reportedly in a dialogue with DAZN and Golden Boy. This resulted after the initial lawsuit filed was thrown out due to technicalities. The lull allowed all parties concerned to come together and hopefully thresh out the issue. But from the looks of it, those efforts have gone for naught.

Alvarez came into the WBC super-middleweight picture when he inquired about the vacancy. The title was previously held by David Benavidez before it was stripped for him after failing to meet the weight requirements against Alexis Angulo. Benavidez went on to win that fight, knocking out Angulo.

Hence, this paved the way for the Alvarez vs. Yildirim fight. There could be more complications on the horizon if Alvarez fails to settle things on his end. Though his contract could be considered void (for his part), DAZN and Golden Boy could dispute that if he goes on to face Yildirim. With his current legal issue still unresolved, the Mexican could end up facing more lawsuits moving forward.

Alvarez is currently embroiled in a $280 million lawsuit after DAZN made it known that they were only willing to pay a portion of the $40 million licensing fees of Alvarez. Such stemmed from DAZN wanting to pick the opponents of Alvarez. The name at the top of their list was Gennady Golovkin, obviously a big draw.

The $280 million that Alvarez is seeking includes damages, the remainder of his contract and a judicial determination that he is eligible to participate in bouts arranged and promoted by entities other than Golden Boy Promotions and broadcast by entities other than DAZN.