As WBN revealed on Tuesday, Pound for Pound king Canelo Alvarez has finally given a green light to Billy Joe Saunders being his next opponent.
After years of trying and a recent promoter switch, this is the first time Saunders has made it past the consideration stage.
Saunders is now the early frontrunner and the most likely candidate to be in the opposite corner to Canelo on May 2 in Las Vegas.
Barring the Briton, there aren’t too many other options open to the Mexican superstar.
Canelo has consistently shunned Gennadiy Golovkin for a trilogy bout since beating him in their late 2018 rematch. DAZN want Golovkin to be next, but WBN understands the streamers will accept Saunders as their flagship bout for the first half of 2020.
Other musings include Demetrius Andrade, Dmitry Bivol or anyone with a title belt. Of which there are currently few contracted to DAZN between viable weights.
Cruiserweight may be too soon for Canelo at the moment, whilst Callum Smith is out of the running as he looks into a rematch with John Ryder.
Whatever happens, Oscar De La Hoya will promote the fight in his capacity as head of Golden Boy Promotions. But the legend has no input whatsoever into who Canelo actually faces.
That’s all down to the ‘Cinnamon One’ himself, as was the case when Canelo picked out Rocky Fielding, Danny Jacobs, and Sergey Kovalev.
GOLOVKIN III
‘GGG’ would probably be the fans’ first choice. But time is fast running out on the Kazakh four-time WBN Fighter of the Year’s career.
Turning 38 this year, kudos for Canelo defeating Golovkin again is wearing considerably thin due to age. And without the pressure of Pay-Per-View, DAZN is unable to push the third fight to the extreme.
Therefore, Canelo can work on whom he feels fits the bill best for yet another Cinco De Mayo installment on the world-famous strip.
Saunders is approved and top of the list at this stage. Whether he lands the fight is another story entirely.
CANELO – MAY, 2020
The Contenders
Billy Joe Saunders
Gennadiy Golovkin
Demetrius Andrade
Dmitry Bivol
Cruiserweight move
Fighter outside DAZN
