Canelo Alvarez looks like he’s going to miss out on fighting on September 12th, as he still doesn’t have an opponent picked out. It was believed that Callum Smith would be the next guy Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs), but that doesn’t look like it’s happening.
Golden Boy Promotions hasn’t made progress with DAZN for Canelo’s next fight, according to Mike Coppinger.
Smith’s trainer Joe Gallagher said on Friday that he’s heard nothing about Canelo fighting his guy other than what’s being said in the media. It’s still widely believed that Callum will be the next opponent for Canelo, but Golden Boy has other options like Jason Quigley, John Ryder, and Willie Monroe.
Canelo and Golden Boy would make a lot of fighters mad if they choose Quigley or Monroe. Neither of those guys is deserving of a fight with Alvarez.
Canelo is eager to fight overseas
“Canelo still hasn’t fought in 2020 and still doesn’t have a fight on the books,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN. “According to Golden Boy president Eric Gomez, Alvarez is eager to fight overseas, especially in the UK or Japan. Should Canelo fight abroad?”
“This is what great fighters do, and an excellent example of that is Muhammad Ali, who fought in a dozen different countries, 13 if you count Puerto Rico,” said Sergio Mora. “That’s what Anthony Joshua was trying to do when he went to MSG [New York] and Saudi Arabia.
“You want to expand your fan base, you want to create your legacy, and you want to be remembered for not just staying in your bubble in your country. Go outside of it and expand your horizons, and kick butt all over the world. That’s what Canelo wants to do.”
Fighting overseas will allow Canelo to expand his fan base, but for him to really create new fans, he’s going to need to fight more than just once. Look at fighters like Tyson Fury. He’s fighting in the U.S now and winning over new fans each time he fights.
Alvarez can maximize his income
“In the last two decades, fighters have been fixated at fighting in the U.S, and fighting in Las Vegas in particular,” said Mannix. “I understand financially if you’re fighting on pay-per-view, fighting in the U.S makes the most sense.
“You can maximize your monetary value, but we forget that fighters you to make 10, 15, $20 million fighting abroad. I think one thing that works in Canelo’s favor with his desire to fight overseas is he’s fighting on a platform that’s a global platform.’
Fighting abroad will allow Canelo to knock off the two British fighters Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith. If Canelo is feeling brave, he can always challenge IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA champ Dmitry Bivol in Russia.
Would Canelo do that? Probably not. As Andre Ward said recently, Canelo fighting Beterbiev would be a “stupid risk.” In other words, Canelo wouldn’t stand a chance against Beterbiev.
“DAZN at some point is going to launch worldwide, and when it does having Canelo fight in different markets and different time zones is one that might not necessarily be the best for the United States could be good for DAZN.
“That’s why I would expect at some point in 2021 to see Canelo in Japan. Japan is a big market for DAZN, and they have an extremely popular fighter is Ryota Murata. He’s a former 160-pound champion, he’s got a good name over there, he’s got a good resume.
“That’s a fight that I fully expect Canelo to take next year. I don’t think Murata can beat Canelo, but it’s a great chance for Alvarez to expand that brand into the Asian market where we have seen so many different athletes capitalize on over the last couple of decades.”
Canelo fighting Murata next year in Japan would be a money grab on his part because there’s no other reason to fight him. The win would be easy for Canelo, and he wouldn’t have to worry about losing.
We don’t know whether Murata would agree to fight Canelo at super middleweight or if he would want him to come down to 160. Murata wouldn’t be able to force Canelo to fight him at 160 though. Canelo has outgrown the middleweight division due to him bulking up after his narrow win over Gennadiy Golovkin in 2018.
Canelo can make it big in Japan
“I believe NBA players have capitalized in going overseas and doing that and European players as well,” said Mora. “I think a Mexican superstar can do it as well. People love boxing in Japan.
“We know what happened when Mike Tyson went out there. It didn’t work out for him, but it was an event. It was something that everybody remembered where they were when Mike Tyson got knocked out by Buster Douglas and where it was in Japan.
“So if Canelo can do the exact same thing that Mike Tyson did and not get stopped, I think it’s great for the sport.”
Canelo can get a nice payday in fighting WBA ‘regular’ middleweight champion Ryota Murata (16-2, 13 KOs), but it’s not a fight that will do much for him in the U.S. Canelo will make it big for all of one fight, but after that, he’ll run dry of opponents.
There are other fighters for Canelo to fight in Japan around his weight class.
Hardcore boxing fans in the States aren’t impressed with Murata after seeing him struggle and lose against Hassan N’Dam and Rob Brant. Murata is the only fighter in Japan that Canelo can fight.
Should De La Hoya fight Jermell Charlo?
“Bernard Hopkins said that if Oscar De La Hoya comes back, he wants to see him fight Jermall Charlo,” said Mannix.
“Ouch, that’s the first thing that popped into my head,” said Mora on the idea of Canelo facing Jermell Charlo.
“We already know what happened to Oscar De La Hoya in his last fight [against Manny Pacquiao in 2008]. He retired on his stool.
“That’s not what we want to see from Oscar De La Hoya again. Stay retired and stay as a promoter.”
“Nah, De La Hoya-Canelo, let’s squash the beef,” said Mannix.
It would be unbelievable for Oscar De La Hoya to select WBC junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo for his comeback fight. Charlo has talent but he’s not in the same class as some of the other fighters that are available for De la Hoya to fight.
The obvious choices for Oscar to make if he comes out of his 12-year retirement are from this small list:
- Manny Pacquiao
- Errol Spence Jr
- Terence Crawford
- Canelo Alvarez
- Gennady Golovkin
Fighting Charlo or his brother Jermall would be a waste of De La Hoya’s time if the objective is to make the most money possible while impressing boxing fans. Charlo was beaten just two fights again by Tony Harrison, so his popularity has taken a hit from that loss.
But if De La Hoya has made up his mind about fighting Jermell, he’s going to be in for a really difficult evening. It would be a harder fight for De La Hoya than his 2008 knockout loss to Manny Pacquiao. Charlo, 5’11”, is a lot bigger than Pacquiao and he has a lot of power.
Instead of De La Hoya fighting Charlo, he needs to have Canelo Alvarez handle that problem of fighting both Charlo brothers. I don’t think he will though, as Canelo has never shown much interest in facing him.