Like the rest of the world’s boxing population, Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez is itching to get back to work, to fight again as soon as he can. The whole coronavirus battle and its enforced lockdown has seen Canelo miss out on his usual Cinco de Mayo big-fight celebration, but Alvarez’ trainer Eddie Reynoso says the plan is for his fighter to get in two bouts before the end of this year.
Speaking with Box Azteca, as translated by Ringtv.com, Reynoso said Canelo has “several” possibilities as far as his next two fights go; including, maybe, a third fight with Gennady Golovkin in December.
“We realistically want two fights this year,” Reynoso said. “We couldn’t fight in May, so we are looking at September and December. We’re talking about (possible foes) like Billy Joe Saunders. There’s also Caleb Plant and the WBC world titleholder at 168 pounds (David Benavidez). There are several (possibilities). Golovkin could be the fight for December. His people have already said that he doesn’t want to fight Canelo until after the (Kamil Szeremeta) fight.”
Canelo, 53-1-2(36) last fought in November when he moved up to light-heavyweight and took the WBO title from Sergey Kovalev. With Reynoso mentioning Saunders, the WBO champ at 168, Plant, the IBF ruler, and Benavidez, it seems Canelo has said goodbye to the middleweight division. Canelo against either of the three belt-holders Reynoso mentioned would be interesting enough, but it is that third and final rumble with Triple-G that we all really want to see.
Golovkin, 40-1-1(35) last saw action in October of last year, when he won a tough decision over Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Now set to fight Szeremeta next, we must hope GGG comes though okay and is then ready and willing to fight Canelo in December. As fans know, GGG was robbed in fight-one with Canelo, getting a draw, while Canelo boxed far better in the return, winning a decision. But in the opinion of many fans (this one included), GGG won both fights.
How much has GGG got left at age 38? Will Canelo really get two fights in before this very strange year is out? A super-fight between Canelo and Golovkin sure would be a great way to see out 2020. But at what weight would the two rivals fight?