Pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez is set to return in the fall after calling off plans to compete on Cinco de Mayo weekend in Las Vegas.
As WBN first reported, the Mexican four-weight ruler was due to face Billy Joe Saunders on May 2 at the T-Mobile Arena.
Due to the coronavirus and the ongoing pandemic, the super-middleweight unification battle was postponed.
Canelo vs Billy Joe Saunders
World Boxing News exclusively revealed that Saunders would be Canelo’s opponent back on January 21st.
Now, with the return of boxing on the horizon, Canelo Alvarez is ready to reignite his encounter with Saunders, who holds possession of a binding contract.
Trainer Eddy Reynoso has named Caleb Plant and David Benavidez as further options for Canelo’s return. However, this seems highly unlikely due to Saunders already agreeing on the deal.
The only thing that could stop Saunders from landing Canelo would be the current travel situation.
Reynoso also told Box Azteca that a Gennadiy Golovkin trilogy is in the plans and could take place in December.
“We realistically want two fights this year (for Canelo Alvarez). We couldn’t fight in May. So we are looking at September and December.
“We’re talking about Billy Joe Saunders. There’s also Caleb Plant and the WBC world titleholder at 168 pounds (David Benavidez). There are several (names).”
He added: “Golovkin could be the fight for December.”
‘GGG’ seemingly has his next outing already lined up, with IBF mandatory Kamil Szeremeta having the Kazakh’s word and bond.
The bout is possible for August before Canelo is locked in by the end of the year.
“His people have already said that he doesn’t want to fight Canelo until after the (Szeremeta) fight,” confirmed Reynoso.
NO FANS
Azteca Deportes journalist Rodolfo Vargas, a man in the know on Canelo developments, believes the 29-year-old will give the green light to face Saunders without fans.
“Canelo Alvarez supports the option to fight behind closed doors in September. He is 100% committed to boxing and reactivating it,” said Vargas.
Venues are currently being whittled down by Golden Boy Promotions, with the United States being struck by COVID-19.
Top Rank is looking into certain arenas in Las Vegas for their reopening. Oscar De La Hoya may look at the possibility of staging his events in a similar region.
