By Eric Thomas: It seems that the June 18th fight between WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez (36-0-1, 26 KO’s) and Britain’s Ryan Rhodes (45-4-1, 31 KO’s) is far from set because the 34-year-old Rhodes apparently wants more money than what’s being offered to him.
This could end with a purse bid or Alvarez taking on someone else on June 18th instead of Rhodes. The WBC made Rhodes the mandatory challenger for Alvarez’s belt, but it’s unclear whether Rhodes is going to get the offer he wants for the Alvarez fight.
It’s a tough fight for the 20-year-old Alvarez and I can see why his promotional company Golden Boy Promotions might not want to put him in with the elusive and clever Rhodes. This isn’t someone that is just going to stand in front of Alvarez all night long making it easy for him to land his heavy shots.
If Alvarez doesn’t take on Rhodes, they’re going to have to search hard to find someone that Alvarez can beat because there are a lot of good fighters in the top 15 that could possibly beat him. Golden Boy might have to scrap the bottom of the top 15 if they want to ensure that Alvarez doesn’t get beaten, because if they put him in with someone like Alfredo Angulo or Kermit Cintron, we may see Alvarez lose his title.
Rhodes is a beatable fighter Alvarez, because he’s been hurt before and he’s been fighting 2nd tier opposition his entire career. Alvarez can knock this guy out, but it will be a tough fight.
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