Canelo Álvarez has re-upped with TV Azteca and revealed that he plans on fighting for another five years. Undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo’s decision to ink an extension with the Mexican network has no bearing on American boxing fans, as they’ll continue to be expected to pay to watch his fights.
In his interview with TV Azteca, Alvarez didn’t reveal who he’ll face on May 4th. The only thing fans learned is Canelo will fight an American next, which could be good if he finally takes the risky match against David Benavidez.
That’s the match people want to see from Canelo instead of the glorified sparring matches that fans have been paying to watch in recent years in Alvarez’s fights against John Ryder, Jermell Charlo, Caleb Plant, Billy Joe Saunders, and Avni Yildirim.
“Canelo’s renewal with Azteca is official! 🖊️ Saúl Álvarez was grateful for the trust of TV Azteca and reiterated that he has at least five years left in boxing,”@BoxAzteca7.
Unlike in the U.S., Canelo’s flights in Mexico won’t be on PPV, which is great for them, but not so good for the Americans, who are paying top dollar to see him work over B-level opposition on PPV.
Fans Crave High-Stakes Matchups
Canelo fighting another five years could mean he will face Benavidez (28-0, 24 KOs) soon and David Morrell Jr. at 168. Those two are by far Canelo’s toughest tests at super middleweights and the ones that are believed to defeat him.
In Benavidez’s case, we don’t know how much longer he can keep boiling down to make 168, so if that fight doesn’t happen between him and Canelo soon, it probably will never take place unless the superstar moves up to light heavyweight or better yet, cruiserweight to face ‘The Mexican Monster.’
It’s believed that Canelo’s May 4th fight will be against Jermall Charlo, and his September defense will be Jaime Munguia. Neither of those fights will please U.S. fans, seeing that those are not cutting-edge opposition.
Munguia has been fighting old guys since moving up to 168, beating John Ryder, Sergiy Derevyanchyenko, Gabriel Rosado, and Tureano Johnson.
As for Jermall Charlo, he’s only fought once in three years, beating welterweight Jose Benavidez Jr. last November, and he doesn’t rate a world title shot against Canelo. Ideally, Jermall and Munguia both should go through Morrell and Benavidez to earn a title shot against Canelo.