by Miguel Rivera
Miguel 'Alacran' Berchelt will indeed defend his super featherweight world title of the World Boxing Council on February 10 at the Plaza de Toros in Cancun, Quintana Roo - but there could be changes at the last minute regarding his opponent.
As it stands right now, the scheduled opponent, former world champion Cristian Mijares, is in doubt.
There are already three replacements being considered who are interested in the opportunity - including Argentine boxers José Matías Romero and Jonathan Barros, as well as the Puerto Rico's Jonathan Oquendo.
A source close to the promotion has informed ESPN Deportes, that certain last minute requests from the company that promotes Mijares did not sit well with the co-promoters of Berchalt, which are Zanfer Promotions and Max Boxing.
And because of that, there are new options being considered.
Mijares was ready for the fight and even revealed that he was not aware of the recent problems. This coming Monday, there will be vital negotiations to determine if Mijares will be confirmed as Berchelt's challenger or if any of the three names mentioned will step in for the opportunity.
Berchelt is currently trainings in Hermosillo, Sonora, and has little interest in whether or not the opponent is Mijares or someone else - he just wants to performance as a world champion in front of his hometown.
Mijares, who reported in at 139 pounds at the pre-fight weigh-in, is said to be very motivated for the fight, which is why he would be very disappointed if he was pulled from the fight.
Among other things, sources indicate that Mijares' promoter - at the last minute - wanted to change the location of the fight and that created a lot of friction with everyone involved.
It's being reported that Romero has already accepted the fight in the event that Mijares is pulled, while there have also been negotiations with Jonathan Oquendo and Jonathan Barros.