‘Canelo’ Alvarez is the man pretty much everybody who is not a heavyweight wants to fight – he’s boxing’s ultimate meal ticket.
But the clamour for the Mexican megastar (61-2-2) to take on a huge test next is growing after his decision victory over Jaime Munguia on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
The bout reportedly only amassed 520,000 PPV buys despite having the might of the Amazon Prime Video platform behind it in the US – and DAZN PPV.
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Now the drums are beating for Alvarez to either face welterweight king Terence Crawford (40-0) or unbeaten super-middleweight David Benavidez (28-0).
Canelo vs Crawford blockbuster
Crawford would undoubtedly be the bigger box-office draw, matching two men in the top five of the sport’s current P4P rankings. But he is currently fighting 21lbs and three weight divisions lower than Canelo. He will move up to light-middle to face Israil Madrimov in August – but that is still a stone south of Alvarez.
Benavidez meanwhile is also moving up – he will make his light-heavyweight debut against Oleksandr Gvozdyk on another Amazon Prime Video PPV in Las Vegas on June 15.
Eddie Hearn, who has promoted Canelo fights in recent years, said he spoke to the Mexican and believes he now knows who he would likely pick out of the two.
Eddie Hearn on Canelo choice
He told Fight HubTV: “When I met Saul, he wasn’t crazy on that [Crawford] fight. He just felt that you have got a welterweight coming up to light-middleweight, going up to super-middleweight and that he wouldn’t get any credit for that win,” Hearn said.
“Everyone would say ‘you are fighting a 147-pounder, [you should be winning]’, but Crawford is really, really good and I think Saul likes fighting now. That’s why I think he liked the Munguia fight, because he knew that was a guy that would come at him and attack him, he is not going to be moving around, chasing around the ring, I don’t think that he is mad [keen] on those kinds of fights.
“As Saul has made it very, very clear – money is pretty much the only motivator for him right now. I guess the challenge as well, but he was pretty honest in that respect wasn’t he, in that if the money is right then he will do anything.
“I think that if the money is right, honestly, he will fight anyone. I don’t think that Crawford is a guy that he would necessarily be picking. I think that he would pick Benavidez over Crawford because he knows he would get the credit for that victory, whereas he might not for fighting a guy that is three or four divisions lower.”
Despite what Hearn might believe, Turki Alalshikh – at the head of the Saudi investment into the sport – dearly wants to make Canelo vs Crawford either in late 2024 or early 2025 – in the United States. And it may well be that money really will talk in the end.
