Canelo Alvarez will be out of the ring until the second or third quarter of 2026, from April to possibly September, as he recovers from elbow surgery following his loss to Terence Crawford on September 13.
Canelo’s Elbow Surgery Recovery Timeline
Mike Coppinger reports that Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) won’t be fighting in February 2026 for the third fight of his four-fight contract with Riyadh Season.
Potential Opponents for Canelo’s Comeback
It’s unknown who the Mexican star Canelo, 35, will be fighting when he does return. That’ll come down to whether Turki Alalshikh will want him to take a risky fight or not. If he wants to take a winnable fight, he can face one of these fighters:
- Hamzah Sheeraz
- Jermall Charlo
- Conor Benn
- Chris Eubank Jr.
“I felt like Canelo is done. I just think he was a little off that night. I think he can make a big comeback. But to Crawford, he’s the greatest of this era. You’ve got to give it to him,” said lightweight contender Floyd Schofield to Fight Hub TV, discussing Canelo Alvarez’s loss to Terence Crawford.
Canelo’s Decline Since 2022 Exposed
Canelo has arguably been “done” since 2022, but has managed to extend his career by fighting bottom-tier contenders. If he’d chosen to fight the top guys like David Benavidez before he left the 168-lb division, David Morrell, Christian Mbilli, and Lester Martinez, we’d have seen him beaten over and over.
For Jeepers, the message is clear. Canelo would have lost much worse against those fighters than his close defeat against an equally old-looking Crawford. Both guys are ready for the wrecking yard in my estimation, and we’d see that if they dared to take on the above fighters. Crawford is too wise for that, and he’s already refused to fight Benavidez, so he’s got to guard that O.
Crawford Win Starts Exaggerated Narratives
“Nobody has ever done that before, three-time undisputed. I was shocked that he was able to dismantle Canelo like that, even with the size difference,’ said Schofoeld about Crawford.
Schofield is exaggerating Crawford’s performance by overstating what happened. It was a close fight, not a dismantling. Terence mostly moved around the ring, landing occasionally, but taking hard punches to the body from Canelo.
It was only in the final two or three rounds that Crawford let his hands go, and that was because Alvarez’s stamina gave out on him as usual. We’d seen the same thing happen with Canelo in his fights against Edgar Berlanga, William Scull, Jaime Munguia, Gennadiy Golovkin 3, and Dmitry Bivol in the last three years since 2022.
Jeepers Isaac has been covering boxing since 2020, bringing readers sharp ringside insights and timely analysis on the sport’s biggest moments