The purse bid for the fight between light heavyweight world champion Adonis Stevenson and interim titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk took place on Monday at a hotel in midtown Manhattan, but not without controversy that has left the fight in limbo.

There were three bidders: attorney Phil Weiss on behalf of Tom Brown's TGB Promotions, which offered $3.102 million; Stevenson promoter Yvon Michel, who bid $2.101 million; and Gvozdyk promoter Top Rank, represented by vice president Carl Moretti, which bid $1.675 million for a fight in which Stevenson is entitled to 65 percent of the winning bid and Gvozdyk 35 percent.

The issue arose when seconds after the bids were unsealed and TGB Promotions was declared the winner, Weiss withdrew the winning bid.

At that point, Michel was declared the winner and told Top Rank he would put the fight on Nov. 3 in Quebec City. However, Top Rank was not happy with how things went down, nor was the WBC supervisor of the purse bid, Bob Yalen. He reported what had occurred to WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman, who said the organization would rule on the situation by Thursday.

Top Rank believes that Brown and Michel colluded when it came to their bids because they would have both been determined by Al Haymon, Stevenson's powerful adviser who dictates Stevenson's career.

Arum and Moretti believe that Brown and Michel knew what each was bidding and that once they finished 1-2 to beat the Top Rank bid, TGB Promotions defaulted so Michel's lower bid would win the rights to the fight, which would mean much less money for Gvozdyk.

"What happened was outrageous on Haymon's part," Arum told ESPN. "When Tom Brown wins and then he pulls his bid so Yvon gets it with the lower bid? That's dirty pool. You win the purse bid and immediately say I'm passing? You can't do that."

Said Moretti: "Yalen, who was supervising the purse bid, said, 'You can't do that.' And then all hell breaks loose with everyone voicing an opinion. Yalen called Mauricio but they were not happy.

"The WBC said they would rule by Thursday on the outcome of the purse bid and I believe they will do the right thing."

Michel's getting the rights to the fight as the under-bidder is not set in stone. Under its rules, the WBC has the right to cancel the purse bid results because of the situation and it could order a new purse bid. That is one of the things the organization will be deciding in the next few days.

However, if Michel is awarded the rights to the fight, Arum said his side is still willing to do the bout.

"I talked with Yvon and I told him we are prepared not only to go to Quebec City but to give him full and complete support in promoting the event because I think that's a great fight and Quebec City is a lovely place," Arum said. "I told him that if Showtime (which puts on most of Haymon's major fights) doesn't step up and do the fight we'll talk to ESPN about doing the fight on one of our cards. But I talked to (Gvozdyk manager) Egis (Klimas) and we are not averse to fighting in Quebec City."

Michel denied any collusion on the bidding.

"I learned only shortly before the bid Phil Weiss was there representing TGB," Michel told ESPN. "I had never met him before the purse bid. I also had no idea how much he was going to bid.

"I spoke to Arum after and I was very happy and impressed by his cordiality, the collaboration he has offered, his personnel and his team's participation, to make this event a huge success as the quality of the fight deserves. I am convinced the event has all the ingredients to be a blockbuster."

Still, Arum was fuming over the actions of TGB Promotions.

"The WBC should make every promoter put up 10 percent of their purse bid and if they default then that money should go to the fighters in proportion to the purse split," Arum said. "In this case, TGB should have had to put up $310,000 and then when they withdrew their bid that money goes to the fighters and they're out of luck. They should make that a rule to prevent this s---. That said, Michel came up with a realistic bid and we're all in."

If Michel's bid is accepted, Stevenson would be entitled to $1,229,085 and Gvozdyk would receive $661,815. Another $210,100 -- 10 percent of Michel's bid -- would come off the top and be awarded as a bonus to the winner of the fight.

Michel's proposed date of the fight, Nov. 3, falls a month outside of the 90-day window the WBC stipulates that a promoter who wins a purse bid must put on the fight within. However, Arum said he would waive that deadline and allow Michel the extra month to do the fight. Of course, the WBC could invalidate the purse bid and order a new one.

"We will wait until the official WBC ruling but since (Groupe Yvon Michel) has done nothing wrong, the promoters of the champion and the contender are ready to work in close collaboration," Michel said. "Our bid has been logically calculated and is realistic in the current market so we should be allowed to proceed."

Brown did not return messages from ESPN seeking comment.

For a variety of reasons, Stevenson (29-1-1, 24 KOs), 40, of Montreal, has not made a mandatory defense for 4½ years. But following his majority draw with former titlist Badou Jack on May 19, Stevenson's ninth defense, the mandatory with Gvozdyk (15-0, 12 KOs) was ordered next even though Stevenson and Jack were interested in pursuing a rematch. Gvozdyk, 31, of Ukraine, claimed the vacant interim belt -- and the mandatory position -- by outpointing France's Mehdi Amar on March 17.