According to WBC president Jose Sulaiman, Top Rank Promotions and promoter Bob Arum is the reason why WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. has yet to face reigning middleweight kingpin Sergio Martinez. "It is not Chavez who does not want the fight, it is his promoter," Sulaiman stated in a recent interview with Mexican media outlet Record. "They will say that Martinez does not sell, but there is no turning back, because a decision was made by the Convention."
Sulaiman is referring to a decision that was made this past December at the 49th annual WBC convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada, when he declared that Chavez Jr. must face Martinez no later than March of 2012. He would later renege on that order, allowing Chavez Jr. to defend his title against Marco Antonio Rubio in February, making a March fight with Martinez impossible. The move would prompt Martinez to hold a press conference, denouncing the WBC and declaring, "I'm not going to defend the Diamond belt anymore. The only title I'm going to defend from now on was the one I conquered after beating Kelly Pavlik, which is the Ring Magazine title."
It appears that Sulaiman is now trying to make amends, promising Martinez that if he wins his bout against Matthew Macklin this Saturday, then the WBC will order negotiations to begin on Monday for a showdown with Chavez Jr. "On Monday, negotiations will begin. In the event that they do not come to an agreement in a month, then we will proceed to a purse bid and the champion will win 60% of the purse and the challenger wins 40%," he explained to Salvador Rodriguez.
The question is, will Top Rank Promotions be willing to move forward with a showdown between Chavez Jr. and Sergio Martinez? According to sources, Chavez Jr.'s contract with the promotional company is quickly coming to an end, so they may look to move him in a different direction in hopes of resigning him to a new contract.
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