Canelo Alvarez has limited options if the Mexican superstar wants to stay at the super middleweight limit.
Following his dominant victory over Gennadiy Golovkin in Las Vegas, Canelo is back on the path to becoming the Pound-for-Pound king once again.
However, GGG’s age and how one-sided the fight was on DAZN PPV didn’t do enough to justify outing Oleksandr Usyk.
Canelo earned a close two-card unanimous decision win when he beat Glovkin in their trilogy fight. But anyone with two eyes knows that Saturday night’s fight wasn’t as close as two officials saw the fight.
Golovkin’s best chance to beat Canelo came five years earlier in their first fight when he was robbed to a controversial draw. The rematch wasn’t much better in terms of scoring.
Having met his Kazakh nemesis for the last time in their rivalry, Canelo has a big decision to make regarding his future.
Who will Canelo Alvarez fight next?
So who’s next for Canelo?
Dmitry Bivol is the obvious first choice as Canelo looks to avenge his loss in May 2022. Bivol used his superior jab to fend off Canelo.
The work of that excellent shot was enough to win rounds against a frustrated Canelo at T-Mobile Arena.
But facing Bivol may come at a price for the 32-year-old undisputed world champion. Challenging for the light heavyweight championship for the third time will no doubt give sanctioning bodies a headache.
The WBA 175-pound title is an easy option and Canelo wants to take it from Bivol. However, it is not as easy as choosing who you want to face.
Does Canelo have a mandatory challenger?
Canelo has three terms at 168 pounds. The WBA, WBC and IBF have all completed qualifying.
Therefore, if Canelo wants to keep his belts, he must inform those three organizations that he intends to adhere to at least one.
The three fighters in a row are Britain’s John Ryder, Mexican two-time world champion David Benavidez and Cuban contender William Scull.
Currently, the WBO is in the process of bidding for their eliminator involving Demetrius Andrade and Zach Parker.
Brit Ryder defeated Canelo’s ex-enemy Danny Jacobs in London to claim her spot seven months ago. Scull beat Evgeny Shvedenko in July to earn the number one position with the IBF.
But it is Benavidez who has waited the longest and should be next to hit.
Benavidez defeated Ronald Ellis in March 2021 as a WBC eliminator. He followed that up by beating David Lemieux by knockout to win the interim strap in May of this year.
When will Canelo fight again?
the 25 year old [26-0, 23 KOs]by right, he should be the only fighter in the opposite corner for Canelo’s next outing, tentatively scheduled for Cinco de Mayo 2023.
A hand injury that worsened in the GGG trilogy is the only thing standing in the way of a fight date. Any return in December has already been ruled out.
The one with “Cinnamon” has a dilemma. Is he going for the 175-pound title or does he stay at 168 and take on all comers?
The conversation with Eddie Hearn and DAZN will come in the next few weeks before Canelo announces any decisions to the WBC, IBF or WBA.
A final decision on his opponent for the Mexican celebration event causing a frenzy at the MGM Grand is not usually confirmed before January.
As is evident in recent years, the WBC is often lenient with Canelo Alvarez in his world title stipulations.
WBN editor Phil Jay has over ten years of boxing news experience. He follows WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews, Instagram and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
