By Jake Donovan

Very little has been lost in the career of Alejandro Sanabria, even in the wake of being denied a lightweight title shot.  The fallout from a targeted July 28 showdown with Antonio DeMarco proved to be minimal, as Sanabria’s ring return is pushed back a week to August 4.

The lightweight contender will appear on the undercard of a Televisa telecast headlined by 130 lb. titlist Juan Carlos Salgado in a voluntary defense. While nothing is set in stone regarding the future, there is motivation behind the two fighters being showcased on the same card.

“If both fighters win, then a possible showdown between them will be secured in Mexico,” suggests promoter Oswaldo Kuchle, though also revealing that they’re not putting all of their eggs in one basket. “We have also spoken with Eric Gomez (Golden Boy Promotions Vice President and matchmaker) to challenge Adrien Broner if he beats Vicente Escobedo.

“So one thing is for sure; Alejandro Sanabria will challenge for a world title in any organization.”

The last line is a parting shot at the WBC, with whom Kuchle has a bit of history. The promoter has an open lawsuit against the sanctioning body over its mishandling of events in the aftermath of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr’s middleweight title defense against Marco Antonio Rubio. Post-fight drug tests were not administered, despite assurances made to Kuchle – who represents Rubio – throughout the promotion and during the pre-fight meeting.

A ripple effect was felt in his Promociones del Pueblo promotional company, namely with Sanabria (32-1-1, 24KO) who relinquished his silver title earlier in the year. The decision came in the aftermath of the alphabet organization refusing to sanction his April fight with Batweg Bangoyan, a move that nearly resulted in the show’s local promoter pulling the bout from the card altogether.

The fight indeed went on as planned, just without the blessing of the WBC. The string of events outside the ring ultimately cost Sanabria a guaranteed mandatory shot at DeMarco.

Mandatory status was a trump card Sanabria could’ve easily played in the wake of Jorge Linares – who was being groomed for a July 7 rematch with DeMarco – suffering a shocking 2nd round knockout loss to Sergio Thompson. That fight took place in another part of Mexico on the same night Sanabria decisioned Bangoyan.

The next logical step should have been a DeMarco-Sanabria showdown, but the politics of the sport contributed to that one falling apart altogether.

Life goes on for Sanabria, who can look forward to at least two more ring appearances before the year is out. More important, that the latter – assuming he wins on August 4 – could very well serve as a long elusive shot at a title.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox