Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn took the news of Canelo Alvarez signing a three-fight deal with PBC in stride, admitting that he didn’t have any fights for him at this time after the rematch talking with Dmitry Bivol failed.
Hearn feels this is a good move for Canelo (59-2-2, 39 KOs) to sign with Premier Boxing Champion for a fight with Jermall Charlo on September 16th, and whoever else they have for him for May & September next year.
The Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn says when Canelo’s contract with PBC ends, he’ll be ready to offer him a fight with Edgar Berlanga at that time.
The 26-year-old Berlanga is young enough to wait until Canelo is available to fight him in 2025. Whether Canelo is still interested in continuing his career at that time remains to be seen.
He’ll be 34 by the time his contract is up with PBC, and he might be too long in the tooth to want to tangle with Berlanga or any of Hearrn’s other fighters at that time.
Hearn says he already spoke to Canelo last night, and he isn’t sure who the other two fighters are that PBC will be offering for the Mexican star. Eddie did mention Errol Spence, David Benavidez, and David Morrell Jr as possibilities for Canelo.
“A little bit the three fights. I knew there was a two-fight deal in play. I don’t know the substance of that. I spoke with Saul last night, and I wished him all the best. I think it’s a good move for him,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype when asked if he was ‘shocked’ at learning that Canelo Alvarez had signed a three-fight deal with PBC.
“We didn’t have a fight for him and didn’t have an offer for him. He has to go somewhere, and I think those are the best fights for him at this stage of his career.
“Not every Canelo fight works financially for DAZN, but they work for us. So we would have loved to have kept promising him, but I think it was the best move for his career.
“As I understand it, it’s not set. It could be anyone, but obviously, Charlo is the frontrunner for the first one,” said Hearn when asked who are the three fighters Canelo will be fighting as part of his three-fight deal with PBC.
“Maybe a Benavidez fight in the future, Morrell, Errol Spence. One of our biggest strengths was we had Callum Smith and Billy Joe Saunders, and we could make the Golovkin fight, and we had Dmitry Bivol.
“This time around, we couldn’t actually make him an offer. Really, we had Bivol, which we couldn’t deliver, and we had Berlanga, that’s not going to be ready for two or three fights.
“They [PBC] have two or three fights for him there that obviously makes sense, and I think at this stage of his career, that closing run could be perfect for him.
“The plan is to keep making statements and make that fight [between Canelo & Berlanga] as big as possible because when that deals done, whether that deals is done next summer or next winter, we want to go back to Canelo and say, ‘We have Edgar Berlanga, Dmitry Bivol is undisputed at 175.’
“I think for Edgar Berlanga, that focuses the mind that fight is not available right now, and you need to keep going through the levels that people keep telling us on social media that ‘you’ve got to beat this person or that person.’ I think it focuses the mind.
“DAZN was spending a huge amount of money on Canelo Alvarez now sits floating that gives us the potential to make some mega-fights at the backend of the year, and that’s really the job that we’re going to be tasked with now.
“We’re not going to be replacing one night. We’re going to be replacing multiple nights and bringing those big names to the platform with the money that they would have previously spent on one night for Canelo Alvarez.
“In that respect, I’m excited. Edgar Berlanga against Gennadiy Golovkin or Gennadiy Golovkin against Jaime Munguia. Whoever that may be. Those are fights that by the time that Canelo is done will make Berlanga against Canelo a monster,” said Hearn.
