The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee ordered the negotiations for the Super Middleweight bout between Cuban Champion David Morrell, and British mandatory challenger John Ryder on Thursday.

Both teams received the corresponding communication stating the beginning of the negotiation period.

The document explains that Morrell’s mandatory defense date expired on January 18th, 2021 but a resolution issued last June 6th allowed the champion to make a voluntary defense against Mario Cazares last June 27th.

According to Championships rule C.11, a champion must defend the title against the official challenger every nine months from the date he won the belt. On the other hand, WBA rule C.13, in the Fighting Limitations section, states that the champion cannot fight a boxer other than the official challenger within 60 days after the expiration of his mandatory defense period.

For this reason, the committee gave a 30-day period for negotiations starting this July 8th, which will end on August 7th. If the parties do not reach an agreement within that period or any of the teams refuse to sign the fight, the WBA will call for purse bids.