By Luke Furman

A press conference was held earlier today, where promoter Yvon Michel of GYM and super middleweight contender Adonis Stevenson discussed the current status with securing a mandatory shot at IBF super middleweight king Carl Froch.

The International Boxing Federation has assured Stevenson that he will get a shot at the title. Froch and his team were negotiating for a unification rematch with WBA "regular" champion Mikkel Kessler, but they were unable to reach an agreement.

Froch and Stevenson have until January 15th to reach an agreement or a purse bid will be called - and then the fight has to take place between February 13 and April 15.

"If Froch's promoter [Eddie Hearn] wins the purse bid, we will certainly accept the deal. If we win, Froch will have 15 days to decide whether if he wants to fight against Stevenson under the conditions of our proposal," said the president of GYM, Yvon Michel.

Hearn wants Stevenson to face Froch (30-2, 22 KOs) on a May date in Nottingham, England. Michel wants Froch to face Stevenson (19-1, 16 KOs) in Montreal in March or April.

"Hearn wants this fight takes place in England and he also sent an interesting offer for a date in May, but on our side we will do everything possible to convince Froch to defend his title here [in Montreal] in March or April. We have also sent a very generous offer for this purpose [to get Froch to Montreal]. He had the chance to beat Jean Pascal and Lucian Bute at home. Why not give us a chance and come visit us?"

"However, if we had to go there [to Nottingham], it would not be a tragedy. Adonis has a plan and he has the tools to deal with the pressure. And at 35 years old, he is calmer and more mature than Pascal was at 24-25-years-old when he fought against Froch."

Luke Furman covers boxing for bokser.org