Canelo Alvarez pulled a big surprise to the fans last Saturday night by saying that he could be out until September 2023.
The former four-division world champion Canelo says he has a left wrist injury that he’s had since his fight with Caleb Plant last November.
The injury didn’t prevent Canelo from easily beating 40-year-old Gennadiy Golovkin last Saturday night in their trilogy match in Las Vegas.
Fans suspect that Canelo’s wrist injury is a convenient excuse for him to duck his rematch with Dmitry Bivol in May and/or a title defense against David Benavidez.
Is it Benavidez or Bivol’s fault that Canelo has chosen to sit idle for 12 months until September 2023? It’s going to look bad on Canelo’s part if he’s seen on the golf course in the next 12 months, playing his favorite hobby.
Likewise, if Canelo is seen riding a horse, that’s going to make it look to some like the injury is just an excuse to dodge Benavidez and Bivol.
If Canelo is injured as he says he is, swinging a golf club has got to be risky and could make the injury worse.
Both of those fights could prove to be very difficult for Canelo, and there’s a good chance that he will get knocked out by both fighters.
“It hurts everywhere. I’ve had this problem since the Caleb Plant fight,” said Canelo Alvarez about his left wrist injury. “Then it started hurting bad, bad, bad. I need surgery.
“It’s not broken. It’s the meniscus. It’s not broken. Last year, I fought four times in eleven months. That’s why I need to take my time. May or September. I don’t know but I got to take my time,” said Canelo.
The perception fans have is the injury is just a way for Canelo to avoid Benavidez and Bivol because those are bat match-ups for him.
A lot can happen in the next 12 months, with Canelo sitting idle until September 2023. If he’s lucky, Bivol will lose to Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez or Joshua Buatsi, which would mean Alvarez would be off the hook for the rematch.
There’s less chance that Benavidez will lose because he’s being avoided like the plague by the top 168-pounders.
