Less than two weeks after adding the IBF middleweight title to his growing collection of world titles, Canelo Alvarez has already been ordered to defend it against mandatory challenger Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
The IBF ordered Alvarez to defend his title next with the two boxers having until June 15 to negotiate a deal or else a purse bid will issued. In a letter sent by the IBF, Alvarez has until August 4 to defend his title against Derevyanchenko.
This is the second time Derevyanchenko has worked his way up to becoming the mandatory challenger to the IBF middleweight title. Derevyanchenko got his world title shot last October when he fought Daniel Jacobs at Madison Square Garden. Although Derevyanchenko was not successful in beating Jacobs, he was remained in the title hunt by being placed in a title eliminator against Jack Culcay on April 13, which Derevyanchenko won.
This isn't the first time Derevyanchenko has been the focal point of a mandatory order by the IBF. When Derevyanchenko was the mandatory challenger for the title in 2018, the IBF ordered then-titleholder Gennadiy Golovkin to fight his mandatory challenger. Instead, Golovkin chose to fight Alvarez last September, which prompted the IBF to strip him of the title, leading to the Jacobs vs. Derevyanchenko matchup.
Alvarez also holds the WBA "Super" and WBC middleweight titles and defeated Jacobs in a title unification back on May 4 in Las Vegas. Alvarez, who is in the middle of a multi-year deal with DAZN, is being planned to fight next in September on Mexican Independence Day weekend, but his next opponent is unclear. After the May 4 fight, Oscar De La Hoya said a few names who could face Alvarez next, including Golovkin, but Derevyanchenko's name was not mentioned.
