One of the biggest superstars in boxing has confirmed the date of his next fight. During a visit with TV Azteca, undisputed super middleweight champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez confirmed that he plans to return to the ring on May 4, a typical spot for him on Cinco De Mayo weekend. While Alvarez did not confirm a specific opponent, he did say his planned opponent is American and they are in the process of finalizing the details.
Alvarez's trip to TV Azteca was in part to announce a new one-year deal with the network to show his fights for free in Mexico. During the event, Alvarez, 33, also stated that he plans to continue fighting for at least five more years.
On Monday, The Ring reported that WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo was set to be Alvarez's opponent. Alvarez thrashed Charlo's twin brother, Jermell Charlo, in September in his most recent outing.
While Jermell was coming up from junior middleweight, he was largely viewed as a more threatening opponent than many currently view Jermall. This is largely because Jermall has only fought once since June 2021, with a November win over Jose Benavidez Jr.
Charlo has found himself in legal trouble at various points over the past few years and has not defended his middleweight title since his June 2021 win over Juan Macias Montiel, though the WBC has not stripped Charlo of his title.
Heading into his fight with Jermell Charlo, many felt Alvarez was on the decline after a string of somewhat lackluster performances. Alvarez turned back the clock against Charlo, scoring a knockdown while sweeping nearly every round on the official scorecards.
Other rumored opponents for Alvarez have been David Benavidez and Terence Crawford. Benavidez is a two-time former WBC super middleweight champion, never losing his title in the ring. He won the interim title in May 2022 and is the top threat to Alvarez in the division, but the Alvarez team has shown little interest in taking on the dangerous Mexican-American fighter.
Crawford's most recent win was a legacy-defining performance against Errol Spence Jr. After years of calls for Crawford and Spence to fight to crown an undisputed welterweight champion, Crawford thrashed Spence before scoring a TKO in Round 9.
At 36 years old, Crawford is now looking for the biggest fights possible before he walks away from the sport and has repeatedly stated that he's open to moving all the way to 168 pounds to face Alvarez.
Despite more appealing options on deck, all indications are that Alvarez vs. Charlo will be the move for the Mexican superstar.
More boxing news, rumors
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- With Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia now officially set for a big box-office fight in April, the rivalry is quickly heating up. The two scuffled at Super Bowl radio row and now are trading insults in the media. In an interview with DAZN, Haney turned up the heat on what he expects from the fight. "Ryan has always been a good fighter since we were kids but I feel like over time I've grown past him, got a lot better, where Ryan kind of stayed the same. And that's for me to show on April 20. ... We've seen Ryan quit before and I think this won't be anything different. Once you have that quit in you, it's installed in you, you know how to do it, and I think he'll quit on April 20."
