IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KOs) is ready to step in and face Canelo Alvarez for his next fight. He’s asking the Mexican star to call him to start the negotiations rolling.
Canelo still needs an opponent for his next fight in September after his negotiations with IBF 168-lb champion Caleb Plant failed to produce a fight.
Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) wanted the match with Plant to become the undisputed champion at super middleweight.
Now that Plant is no longer an option, his promoters at Matchroom Boxing are looking at WBA light heavyweight champion Dimitry Bivol, Carlos Gongora, and some unspecified fighters.
With Canelo wanting to create a lasting legacy, one way of accomplishing that is to focus on fighting the best rather than collecting titles from belt-holders, which he’s been doing since 2019 when he defeated Rocky Fielding to pick up his first of three straps at 168.
Fighting Beterbiev would give Canelo the victory he needs/wants for his legacy, much more than a fight with Caleb Plant.
Beterbiev says it won’t be difficult to negotiate a fight with Canelo
“It would not be difficult for [Canelo Alvarez’s] representatives to come to an agreement with me,” said Beterbiev to MatchTV.
“If [Canelo’s management] contact me, I will give them a positive answer,” Beterbiev continued
“I want to become an undisputed champion or try my hand at a fight with Canelo,” said Beterbiev.
First things first, Beterbiev needs to try and set up a fight with Canelo because he’s searching for an opponent for his legacy.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn wants to put a deal together with Canelo and WBA 175lb champion Bivol (18-0, 11 KOs), who he also promotes.
It would be a case of Hearn taking care of two of his fighters if he were to put a deal together between Bivol and Canelo. The boxing public might have a little more interest in seeing Canelo fight the #1 guy at 175 in Beterbiev rather than Bivol.
Don’t get me wrong. Canelo vs. Bivol is a GREAT fight and a clear improvement over the Plant match-up.
Beterbiev would bring the war to Canelo and force him into a battle that would end with one of them knocked out.
It would be a difficult fight for Canelo because Beterbiev would force him to slug it out from start to finish, and he may not be able to do that. Canelo used pressure really well in his rematch with Gennadiy Golovkin, but it would be harder for him to walk down Beterbiev in the same way.
But against Beterbiev, Canelo might have a tougher time if he goes straight into the teeth of his artillery. It could end badly for Canelo with him getting torn to shreds in that kind of a battle.
What we’ll likely see from Canelo is him going to the ropes and using the Mayweather rope-a-dope that he employed in his fight against Austin Trout in 2013.
It wasn’t very effective, but the judges still gave Canelo round after round. Beterbiev would make it interesting if Canelo chooses to shell up against the ropes in September.
We’ll soon see what kind of legacy Canelo is looking to create for himself. Now that he knows Beterbiev is ready to fight him in September, it’s going to look bad if Canelo opts for an easier target.
You can draw your own conclusions about what Canelo is trying to do if he avoids Beterbiev and faces a less-threatening fighter.
The fans have been putting up with Canelo’s long two-year mission to try and become the undisputed champion at 168, and they want it to end already.
They want Canelo to begin fighting quality opposition once again like he was doing when he was taking on guys like Golovkin, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, and Austin Trout.
Beterbiev would be a great way for Canelo to message the fans that he’s ready to start giving them the fights they want once again.
