Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez is at a stage of his career where he can pick and choose he fights.
The 34-year-old recently gave up his undisputed super-middleweight status, being stripped of the IBF belt for refusal to face his mandatory challenger. In response, he said, “I’m gonna do whatever I want. Because I deserve it, because of all I have done.”
That means it’s only big money or big legacy fights for Alvarez, who is coming off a routine points win of Edgar Berlanga. He has expressed a desire to rematch Dmitry Bivol – just one of two men to beat him in 66 fights – next provided the Russian wins his undisputed light-heavyweight contest this weekend against countryman Artur Beterbiev.
Of course, it’s no guarantee that Bivol will be the one who comes out on top. So, would Canelo be interested in facing Beterbiev?
In a resurfaced clip from Max on Boxing, Hall of Fame fighter Andre Ward shut down host Max Kellerman’s hope of seeing the Mexican superstar in with the currently unified champion.
“He’ll never fight Beterbiev.”
Beterbiev is the only world champion with a 100% knockout ratio, something he looks to continue this weekend in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.
Despite many fans fancying the fight, Canelo has since proved Ward’s prediction correct by stating he has no interest in any other fight at light-heavyweight other than Bivol. Whether or not that includes David Benavidez, who has recently moved up after chasing the Canelo fight for some time, remains to be seen.
As for Beterbiev, should he win this weekend there may be a move up to cruiserweight on the cards. First up is Bivol, where he looks to do something Canelo couldn’t back in 2022.
