Canelo Alvarez was out-trending the Fury vs Ngannou crossover event on social media despite not having any fight in the works.
The Mexican superstar trended above the polarizing Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou clash during the press conference in Saudi Arabia. The reason was speculation over a Showtime PPV deal.
Reports surfaced that Premier Boxing Champions promoter Al Haymon had arranged the final two bouts of Canelo’s deal with the company.
The guessing game started to gather pace after one or two media outlets placed a Mexican double in the mix for 2024. According to the blueprint laid out, but as yet unconfirmed by Haymon, Canelo will battle Jaime Munguia on Cinco de Mayo.
Canelo would finally face David Benavidez in September 2024 in the final portion of the deal. That’s all good and well for boxing fans, especially the Latino community, due to the respective dates of May and September on the Las Vegas calendar.
Will Canelo fight on Showtime PPV again?
However, the confusion appeared in the form of what network would broadcast those fights. It’s no secret that Showtime Boxing will be no more after 2023.
Therefore, it remains up in the air as to which PPV outlet picks up the two events. One report said Showtime would honor the deal by staging two more PPV shows in 2024.
However, former WBN writer Dan Rafael added that he spoke to someone connected to Showtime. They stated there were no plans whatsoever to broadcast any Showtime Boxing events in 2024.
All this happened as Fury and Ngannou tried to take center stage. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to overhaul the fighter who calls himself the current Pound for Pound king.
At the final press conference, Promoter Frank Warren seemed unfazed by any negativity surrounding Fury vs Ngannou.
“It is one of the most amazing events I’ve ever been involved with, with an amazing lineal heavyweight champion in Tyson Fury,” said Warren.
“Wherever he goes, everything is big, everything, he breaks records everywhere. We have a lineal champion in Francis, undefeated as UFC champion.
“We’ve got a fabulous fight in a fabulous setting [in Saudi]. It is just going to be something special on the night. The whole event on Saturday night is going to be mind-blowing, no doubt about that.
“Big shout-out to Spencer [Brown, Fury’s manager] for his actions. This is the start of something huge here. The catalyst, as I say, is Tyson. He is the catalyst to make this happen.”
Fury vs Ngannou takes place on Saturday night, with the winner of the clash a one-way street, according to the vast majority of the boxing community.
