There’s no dispute about Canelo Alvarez being the No.1 active fighter on the planet. Having dethroned Sergey Kovalev to capture a third recognized world title in as many weight classes, the WBN choice for 2019 Fight of the Year is the most in-demand entertainer on the planet.
The face of DAZN – USA, Canelo enters his fourth bout of an eleven-fight deal worth a minimum of $365 million.
After dismantling Rocky Fielding, Canelo produced an impressive victory over Daniel Jacobs to unify the 160-pound division last May. He followed it up with an explosive KO against the ‘Krusher’ in November.
The question is – who is next?
Despite desperation from DAZN chiefs to make the trilogy between Canelo and Gennadiy Golovkin, Golden Boy Promotions boss Oscar De La Hoya has confirmed his marquee fighter is in control of his own destiny.
“Saul’s in a position where he can pick and chose who he wants to fight,” De La Hoya said at a recent WBC appearance. “Canelo’s a fighter who always wants to fight the best because he wants to challenge himself.
“Stepping up to 175 pounds wasn`t an easy task and he passed with flying colors.
“We will speak to his camp and discuss the possibilities. But I can assure you that the next guy he fights will be another difficult task, will be another historical fight that he`ll give us.”
Fights against Demetrius Andrade, fellow native Jaime Munguia and GGG at middleweight would seem unlikely after his jump up to light heavyweight in his most recent outing.
Six-division world champion De La Hoya knows a thing or two about the difficulty of returning to a lower weight. A drained De La Hoya would bow out from the game in 2008 after a devastating defeat to Manny Pacquiao at welterweight.
“It would be difficult to get [Canelo] back to 160 pounds. It would be like when I fought Bernard Hopkins. Then when I came back down to one hundred forty-seven to fight Manny Pacquaio.
“It could make you a weak fighter. But Saul knows what he`s doing. He has a great team and a great trainer. So only he knows how his body feels.
“When we sit down with their team we will iron out an opponent and we`ll announce soon.”
