Canelo Alvarez’s manager Eddy Reynoso says they’re not negotiating with anyone yet. This report by Reynoso throws cold water on the talk of Canelo facing Jermall Charlo next on May 7th, which sounded too good to be true.
That was a fight that many boxing fans were eager to see because it was one of the rare instances in the last four years in which Canelo is facing an elite-level fighter with a chance of defeating him.
This was the best opponent Alvarez will have faced since his fight with Gennady Golovkin in 2018, which many fans felt Canelo should have lost. Since then, every opponent that Canelo has faced has been deficient in some way.
Reynoso says they should have an update next week on Canelo’s next fight, but he’s not giving any hint on who the opponent will be. For the boxing fans that don’t know, Reynoso is the one that chooses Canelo’s opponents. He’s the one that chose Ilunga Makabu, the WBC cruiserweight champion for Canelo.
Reynoso says NO negotiations for Canelo
“Good afternoon! Regarding the next fight of Canelo.
There is NO negotiation with any promoter, or rival, or date. Next week we will have something concrete,” said Eddy Reynoso on Twitter.
Sadly, the way that Reynoso was quick to dismiss the talk of a fight between Canelo and the WBC middleweight champion Jermall (32-0, 22 KOs), it would seem improbable that the PBC fighter will be his next opponent.
With the trouble Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) had in his last two fights against Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders, it makes sense that Reynoso wouldn’t choose Jermall Charlo as his next opponent because he’s a far more talented fighter than those two ex-champions.
Makabu could be Canelo’s next opponent
Canelo will likely resume his plans to fight WBC cruiserweight champion Ilunga Makabu on May 7th, providing he wins his title defense this month against Thabiso Mchunu on January 29th.
Canelo’s interest in Makabu involves him wanting to capture a fifth division world title, as he wants to add to his legacy. Boxing fans DON’T want to see Canelo fighting the little-known Makabu, but that likely won’t prevent him from carrying out this wacky fight.
Canelo wants to win division world titles, and the only way he can keep doing that is by continually moving up.
Unfortunately, Canelo can’t match Manny Pacquiao to win eight world titles. Still, he can come close if he selects beatable champions like Makabu at cruiserweight, Oscar Rivas at bridgerweight, and Trevor Bryan at heavyweight. Those guys are easy marks.
If Canelo were to beat those champions, he would be a seven division world champion.
To match Pacquiao’s record, he would need to drain down to 147 and beat one of the champions in that weight class.
It sounds ridiculous, I know, but you can’t put it past Canelo because facing Makabu would be an odd fight. It would be transparent what Alvarez is doing in cherry-picking another division title.
The other potential option for Canelo’s next fight in May is WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. His promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank, says he had discussions with Canelo, and he said that he’s interested in potentially facing Smith Jr. in May or September.
