This comes in the wake of the current heavyweight champion declaring his interest in a possible final career clash with David Haye, although Sulaiman doesn’t see how any defence against the Briton could be sanctioned.
The reason being that is American Stiverne has come through two eliminators for a shot at Vitali’s belt and will almost certainly be rubberstamped as the only fighter able to tackle the elder Klitschko next, once the WBC gather for their yearly get-together.
“All mandatory defences of titles will be discussed and voted for at our 561st annual convention in Thailand being held from November 3rd to the 9th,” Sulaiman stressed to World Boxing News.
“However with regards to Haye, Vitali has a mandatory challenger in Stiverne and I believe that the convention will ratify their commitment to giving him his chance to fight for the WBC title.”
Former WBA champion Haye, 32, must come through domestic rival Tyson Fury on September 28 before he can even think of another world title shot, although may have to look towards the winner of old rival Wladimir Klitschko’s clash with Alexander Povetkin if the Londoner wants to fight for a title in the first part of 2014.
Ex-Vitali challenger Chris Arreola’s recent one-round demolition job over Seth Mitchell has also put him right back in the mix at the top of the rankings and barring a rematch with the former College Footballer, ‘The Nightmare’ could be one of the prominent names to battle the winner of Haye v Fury for the mandatory position once Stiverne is accommodated.
