Saul ‘Canelo‘ Alvarez continues to be the biggest draw in the sport of boxing 66 fights into his campaign, though options for high-profile opponents are dwindling.
The Mexican superstar has recently signed a four-fight deal with Riyadh Season which will kick off on May 3 in Saudi Arabia with a unification bout against new IBF Champion William Scull, who picked up the belt when it was stripped from Canelo last year after failing to face him as a mandatory challenger.
Should he win, Canelo will then move ahead with a Las Vegas mega-fight against Terence Crawford in September. For his final two bouts in the deal, options remain up in the air.
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The 34-year-old from Guadalajara struggles when asked what fights still add to his legacy, but recently made it clear that he wants to avenge his defeat – only the second of his long career – to undisputed light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.
However, that appears to no longer be the case, as when asked by CBS Sports if he planned to stay in his current weight class Canelo said:
“Yeah, the plan is to stay in this weight class.”
Canelo has previously stated that a rematch with Bivol only interests him at light-heavyweight, even despite Bivol saying he would move down to fight for the Mexican’s belts.
That – paired with the fact that Bivol is more likely to consider a jump up to cruiser rather than down to super-middle – makes the fight unlikely to take place.
Another fight this decision takes off the table is the long-awaited clash with David Benavidez, who grew tired of chasing Canelo at 168, moved up to 175 and is now mandatory challenger for Bivol. Despite still wanting to face off with Alvarez, Benavidez says light-heavyweight is now the minimum weight for him and there will be no drop back down.