Canelo Alvarez is set to sever ties with Al Haymon and Premier Boxing Champions after one fight, leaving his immediate career in shambles.
In 2023, the Mexican superstar signed a lucrative $105 million deal with Haymon to compete against three PBC fighters into late 2025. In what should have been a warning, the first event didn’t go to plan.
Canelo was due to face Jermall Charlo in September 2023. It was supposed to be the start of a deal that saw Charlo, his brother, and David Benavidez getting cracks at Canelo.
The headlining Pay Per View event was on the verge of being announced when Charlo backed out. Mental issues and problems with his lifestyle meant Charlo was unable to follow through. In a twist, his twin brother Jermell stepped up despite competing two divisions below Canelo.
The whole debacle should have given a preview of what was to come.
Charlo had nothing to offer the twelve rounds as Canelo won at a canter. However, the first of three promised PPVs with the pound-for-pound star wasn’t enough to save broadcasters Showtime.
After many successful years in the sport, Showtime had its funding pulled, and Haymon was forced to search for a new network.
Who will Canelo Alvarez fight next?
It took a few months, but Haymon landed a contract with Amazon Prime Video. The full details of the agreement remained under tight non-disclosure, with speculation rife that it was nowhere near as cozy as the Showtime contract previously enjoyed by Haymon.
After several weeks of false reports over Gervonta Davis taking the reigns for the first event, that honor went to Keith Thurman and Tim Tszyu. The announcement must have caused alarm for Canelo and his team.
If Thurman vs. Tszyu was a sign of the Haymon/PBC/Prime future, Canelo might have had a severe rethink there and then. However, it’s impossible to know without Canelo commenting on the deal despite his deafening silence.
PBC plows on with its first event on March 30. Canelo remains in limbo as the behavior of his second suitor, Charlo, raises concerns about his wellbeing.
Charlo claimed he’d not been offered a Canelo fight, which the super middleweight king wanted confirmed in February. PBC came back with alternatives, like Jaime Munguia, but they didn’t have the depth of roster to cope with Canelo’s demand.
Terence Crawford was under contract for a rematch with Errol Spence and saw his time run out. “Bud” was on the top two list of opponents the fans and media would have chosen.
But with Canelo looking to move on from PBC, the Crawford situation became too messy to salvage. The welterweight champion is, like Canelo, in limbo and awaiting offers for his next free-agency fight.
DAZN reunion
As usual, promoter Eddie Hearn has become the first to latch onto Canelo in an attempt to tie down the superstar. In Hearn’s defense, he does have one opponent for Canelo on DAZN.
However, in a weird twist, Canelo is being linked with working with Golden Boy again despite falling out with Oscar De La Hoya and leaving the company.
That alone could rule out Munguia and leave Hearn in a prime position to offer Canelo an uninspiring battle with Edgar Berlanga.
If Canelo reads the room in any way, Berlanga would certainly not be anybody’s choice. If not Benavidez, Crawford being the preferred choice when moving up 21 pounds for his chance strongly indicates the lack of open options. But if that means re-signing with Prime Video for one fight or doing similar with DAZN, then so be it.
De La Hoya had already moved to tell Ariel Helwani that Canelo vs Munguia is not happening on May 4. That gives Canelo little alternatives if he won’t accept Benavidez as his next challenge.
Meanwhile, the number of wrong predictions over who Canelo will face on Cinco de Mayo continues to rise.
The views expressed in this article are the opinions of experienced boxing writer Phil Jay.
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