For various reasons light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson (29-1-1, 24 KOs) hasn’t made a mandatory defense for 4½ years, but that's about to change. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told ESPN that Stevenson has been ordered to face interim titlist and mandatory challenger Oleksandr Gvozdyk (15-0, 12 KOs) next. The purse bid is slated for July 2. If the sides don’t make a deal and it goes to a purse bid, Stevenson is entitled to 65 percent of the winning bid and Gvozdyk 35 percent. Carl Moretti of Top Rank, Gvozdyk’s promoter, said he has exchanged emails with Stevenson promoter Yvon Michel to begin conversations about making the fight. “We’d like the fight to happen sooner rather than later,” Moretti said. “Whatever happens at the purse bid, if we don’t make a deal, will dictate when and where the fight happens.” Stevenson, 40, of Montreal, has made nine defenses, most recently a hard-fought draw with former titlist Badou Jack on May 19. Gvozdyk, 31, of Ukraine, claimed the vacant interim belt by decision over Mehdi Amar on March 17.