By Sean Jones: Canelo Alvarez may need to start considering fighting behind closed doors if he wants to return to the ring in 2020. With the pandemic that has stopped boxing, for the time being, Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) has to decide whether he wants to wait it out for the U.S government to allow crowds to attend fights or compete without fans in empty arenas.
Canelo had planned on facing WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders next, but that fight has been postponed. Right now, it’s up in the air whether Canelo will still be fighting Saunder. If Canelo is going to fight behind closed doors, a lackluster match against the likes of Saunders would be ideal.
There’s very little interest from U.S fans in Canelo vs. Saunders, so it would be an excellent throwaway match that would be ideal for behind closed doors setting.
Canelo has a huge 11-fight, $365 million deal with DAZN, which pays him a tremendous amount of money for each fight. So for Canelo, it’s not as much of a negative for him to fight behind closed doors as it would for a regular fighter, which is more dependent on the gate money from fans for his purse.
Canelo, 29, likes to fight three times a year, and that’s not going to happen in 2020. At this point, there’s the possibility that Canelo WON’T fight at all unless he opts to compete without fans.
If fans aren’t allowed to attend live events in the United States, then Canelo will either need to take his next fight outside of the U.S, which is unlikely or agree to fight without fans.
Fighting behind closed doors for Canelo
“Canelo Alvarez was originally scheduled to fight Billy Joe Saunders this month. Should Canelo fight behind closed doors?” said Chris Mannix to DAZN.
“Canelo is not going to have any choice. Boxing is starting to push every boxer to motivate themselves to get the idea of fighting in front of an empty arena,” said Sergio Mora. “I mean, look, we want to get back to the hurt business, and even the superstars in empty stages.
“Canelo is going to have to get used to that fact, and everybody else. Not only Canelo but GGG, Anthony Joshua and everybody else, limited fans, essential workers. That’s how it’s got to be nowadays.”
“I don’t think we’re there yet with Canelo making the decision to fight behind closed doors just like I don’t think we’re there yet with Anthony Joshua or Errol Spence or Terence Crawford or any of the top fighters,” said Mannix. “I think if you’re Canelo Alvarez, you have to start at least to consider the idea of closed doors venues.
“You got to start to think that if we get to July, and I need to book my next fight for September, what am I going to do? I’m of the opinion based on what I hear from medical experts that there is NO way that we’re going to have crowds in stands in any sport until we get closer to the end of the year, and maybe not until 2021.”
There isn’t a whole lot of time for Canelo and his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions to decide if they want to fight in September. That’s now four months away, so if Canelo wants to fight in September, he’ll need to make the decision now whether to take it behind closed doors.
Alvarez has a lucrative deal with DAZN
“So if you’re Canelo Alvarez, you, of course, can wait until the end of 2020 to get back in the ring and hope that crowds are there, but you also have to recognize that you have a lucrative streaming deal with DAZN, which pays you a whole bunch of money to get back in the ring, fans or no fans,” said Mannix.
“So if you’re Canelo, you’re used to fighting in front of big crowds, you’ve been doing it for the most of your professional career. But you’ve got to start thinking, ‘If I want to fight in September, more likely or not, it’s going to be behind closed doors.'”
“I think Canelo is smart enough to evolve into that,” said Mora on Alvarez, fighting without fans. “He’s getting millions of dollars. And he’s going to have the easiest of choice. Yes, he’s going to miss the crowds, the music, the Malachi, the lights, everything, and the whole spectacle that comes with fighting in May and September.
“But it’s something that he’s going to do because of the money and the obligations, not only to the network and DAZN but also to his fans because this is such an important date. These are two such important dates for Mexicans, Mexican Americans and Latinos, and boxing fans.
“We need boxing back, and we need the #1 superstar [Canelo] to agree, but not only on smaller stages and smaller arenas, but maybe even take less money because of that. I don’t know the details behind his contract, but yes, I think he’s going to do that. He’s humble enough to want to do that as well.”
Canelo is in a good position with his contract with DAZN.
Canelo wants to fight three times a year
“Look, everybody is taking less money from all walks of life. That’s just a reality of this pandemic,” said Mannix. “Fighters, athletes, they’re no different, and they should be no different at this point.
“One thing that you have to remember about Canelo is when you’re thinking about his decisions that, this is a guy that likes to fight three times per year. He wants to be busy.
“He wants to fight in May, September, and December if given the opportunity. That was one of the original plans to start this calendar year. Now the possibility of only fighting once this year, I don’t think that’s going to sit well with Canelo Alvarez.”
If Canelo takes a wait and see approach to his September fight, he could lose out on that date if fans aren’t allowed to attend. His last fight was in November of last year against WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. While it obviously will hurt to stage his next fight behind closed doors, it’ll be worse if Canelo doesn’t fight at all in 2020.
It’s possible that Canelo won’t fight at all in 2020 unless he agrees to fight behind closed doors. Boxing fans just want to see him in action against a GOOD opponent, and it won’t be a big deal for them if he fights in a studio setting.
Canelo is already getting money from DAZN, so it’s not the end of the world for him to fight without fans present. He won’t be able to hear the roar of the crowd, but that’s one of the sacrifices he’ll need to take if he wants to stay busy this year.
