Eddie Hearn says he doesn’t believe superstar Canelo Alvarez will move up to cruiserweight to challenge WBC champion Ilunga Makabu for his May 7th fight on Cinco de Mayo. Earlier this week, on Monday, there were reports that Canelo was in talks with Jermall Charlo for a battle in May.
However, on Tuesday, Canelo’s trainer/manager Eddy Reynoso shot that idea down, saying that they’re not in talks with any fighter yet.
In the next two weeks, Canelo will decide who he’ll be fighting next, says Hearn.
Suppose Canelo is going to go with an unpopular choice like Makabu. In that case, he needs to announce the fight as soon as possible so that his promoters can begin the back-breaking task of getting boxing fans interested in seeing this fight.
It’ll require a lot of heavy lifting on the part of Canelo’s promoters and the networks to pump interest in seeing him face the little-known WBC cruiserweight champion Makabu.
Hearn states that he’s going to present some offers to Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs), and he’d like him to go up 175 to focus on becoming the undisputed champion in that weight class in 2022.
If Canelo, 31, is willing to fight three times in 2022, he can become the undisputed champion this year at light heavyweight by facing these three champions:
1. Joe Smith Jr- WBO
2. Dmitry Bivol – WBA
3. Artur Beterbiev – IBF/WBC
Saving Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) for last makes sense for Canelo because the Russian fighter is aging and will be turning 37 on January 21st.
If Canelo waits until December before fighting Beterbiev, the two-time Olympic gold medalist will be nearing 38-years-old and will have lost a little more speed.
It might be a factor for Canelo because many boxing fans believe he waited for Gennady Golovkin to reach his mid-30s before fighting him. Also, Canelo didn’t fight Sergey Kovalev until he was 36.
“I saw Eddy Reynoso’s Tweet yesterday, saying there are no negotiations going on,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV on Canelo, NOT being in negotiations with Jermall Charlof for a May 7th fight.
“I spoke with Eddy Reynoso a few days ago, and we’ll be putting out suggestions and numbers probably this week. Canelo has been enjoying himself having a break, and he’ll be looking to make his decision in the next couple of weeks for his May fight.
“I’d like to see him in the light heavyweight division, and I’d like to see him become undisputed there. Obviously, you’ve got [Jermall] Charlo, you’ve got [David] Benavidez.
“I think so, but he’s got his mandatory [Thabiso Mchunu] as well [on January 29th].
“I don’t think that’ll be the May fight, but it might be, and I’m pretty sure many other offers that Eddy Reynoso has had as well,” said Hearn when asked if Canelo is still planning on fighting WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu next on May 7th.
“We’ll be making our bid or our suggestion, and hopefully, it’ll be great to work with him again,” said Hearn on Canelo’s next fight.
It’s almost automatic that Canelo WON’T be fighting David Benavidez because that’s someone that he’s shown zero interest in fighting. The guys that Canelo seems to be more interested in right now are the ones off the beaten track like Makabu.
The excellent news is that Canelo can’t continue to disappoint boxing fans with him fighting obscure fighters from Europe to capture world titles. Canelo finished his three-year journey to becoming the undisputed champion at 168 last November with his victory over Caleb Plant.
If Canelo continues to fight at super middleweight, it’ll be for him to defend his four straps. Still, there are only two quality guys in the division worth fighting in Benavidez and David Morrell Jr. The rest of the fighters are aging fighters like Daniel Jacobs, John Ryder, and David Lemieux.
