Boxing analyst Teddy Atlas feels that superstar Canelo Alvarez should fight in London next in late September against Chris Eubank Jr. for his undisputed super middleweight championship title defense.
Eubank Jr. in London: The Money Move
Canelo’s next opponent still hasn’t been confirmed for his next fight. Eubank Jr. (33-3, 24 KOs) has surprisingly emerged as the frontrunner in that fight.
Atlas views the Eubank Jr. fight as one that will make Canelo a lot of money, given the interest British fans would have in seeing him compete against one of their own fighters. It’s a clash that would sell a lot of tickets in one of the venues in London, and it would do quite well.
Canelo’s hand is being forced because the UFC is scheduling one of its events on the Mexican Independence Day holiday weekend on September 14th, which would conflict with Alvarez’s contest.
It’s believed that if Canelo does fight on that date, he would face Edgar Berlanga, and that’s not a big enough match-up for him to compete in a UFC event on the same night. Berlanga has fans in the New York City area of the state, but not an attraction beyond that,
Fans would ideally like to see Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) defend against his WBC mandatory David Benavidez. Still, he’s already stated that he won’t take that fight without being given $200 million, and he’s adamant about that.
A fight against Benavidez is not happening, but it doesn’t matter. Canelo is such a big star that he doesn’t need a big name for his events to bring good numbers. Eubank Jr. is more than good enough for Canelo to use as his next opponent, and it helps that he can fill a venue in London.
“If you can bring it to London, that’s the money move. You want the [biggest] crowd. You don’t have Mexican Independence Day; you go to London,” said Teddy Atlas to Probox TV about what Canelo should do.
