Mexican star Canelo Alvarez met with the media, saying that he’ll meet with Al Haymon of PBC on Monday to discuss his next fight in May.
Right now, Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) isn’t sure who he’ll fight next, but he says the three names that have been floated as options for May, he doesn’t know where those came from.
When told that David Benavidez says he should vacate his WBC super middleweight title if he doesn’t fight him next May, Canelo said he’s “The King” and he’ll do as he pleases.
Canelo added that if that’s a good fight for September, they’ll see. He said that sometimes fights are “bigger” if you wait, which could apply to Benavidez. So, if Canelo doesn’t fight Benavidez next year, it could in the future.
The likely options Haymon will offer to Canelo for his next fight in May are these two fighters:
- Jermall Charlo
- Terence Crawford
Benavidez will obviously be mentioned by Haymon, but he’s not expected to get the fight with Canelo next May. Indeed, the way he’s talking, he won’t be chosen for September either.
The downside of Canelo making Benavidez wait is that he’s likely to outgrow the division soon. Benavidez is already huge for the 168-lb division and looked ghastly making weight for his last two fights against Demetrius Andrade and Caleb Plant.
Benavidez turns 27 on December 17th, and if Canelo makes him wait until 2025 or 2026, it’s difficult to imagine him being able to still make the 168-lb division at that point.
He can still make the weight because of his youth, but he’s running out of time.
If Canelo makes Benavidez through 2025 or 2026, the ‘Mexican Monster’ will have no choice but to fight David Morrell, the fighter that some believe he’s been avoiding out of fear for the last year. Morrell hits harder than Benavidez, has better technical skills, and is younger than him at 25.
“Right now, my dates are May and September. Those are the dates I always look to fight. This Monday, I’m going to have a meeting about what comes next,” said Canelo Alvarez to the Fight Hub TV when asked about his next fight in May.
“Well, a lot of things can be said, but at this moment, I’m the King, and I can do whatever I want,” said Canelo, reacting to being told that David Benavidez saying that he needs to vacate his titles if he doesn’t fight him next in May.
“You can never fight at 100% when injured. I feel very good at my performance [against Jermell Charlo] showed it. There’s nobody at the table right now.
“Honestly, I’ve been doing other things. I’ve been handling my businesses and traveling with my wife, and right now, I haven’t talked about any of that. I don’t know where all of that came from,” said Canelo about his potential opponents for May 2024: Jaime Munguia, Jermall Charlo, and Terence Crawford.
“I don’t know where those names came from, but on Monday, I’m going to sit down with Al Haymon and see what comes next and see what’s the best for us.
“We’ll see. Like I said, I’m here to make the best fights, and if that’s a good fight for September, we’ll see. Sometimes the fights are bigger if you wait a bit,” said Canelo on whether he’ll fight Benavidez in September.
“Right now, like I said, I’m going to see what the options are, and we’ll see what happens. It always happens. Lara, Trout, Cotto, Golovkin, Jacobs. ‘I didn’t want to fight with Callum Smith and with Billy Joe Saunders.’ I beat them. Practically all of them.
“If I beat Benavidez, they’re going to say, ‘Why don’t you face another guy? It’s the same thing. Look at my history. I’ve done everything in boxing,” said Canelo.
