By Sean Jones: Golden Boy Promotions are close to getting a deal done for Canelo Alvarez to fight on September 16. Oscar De La Hoya says Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) is going to be fighting on that date, but they still need to finalize with his opponent and pick a suitable venue.
De La Hoya wants to get the size of the crowd figured out in how for which state they’re going to stage Canelo’s next fight. Oscar mentioned Las Vegas, Texas, and New York as possible options.
It’s still too early to know which of the venues will work for the Canelo in terms of the number of fans that will be permitted. De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions are contacting the different commissions in California, Texas, and Nevada to find out how many fans will be able to attend.
It’s not a good time for Canelo to be staging a fight in Texas, with the state being hard hit by the virus.
De La Hoya isn’t giving any clues about who Canelo could be fighting on September 16. We’ve heard a lot of names, but most of them have underwhelming. Canelo wants the fight at 168, but that doesn’t mean he’ll fight a super middleweight. Could face a 160-pounder that would come up in weight to meet him.
Deal close for Canelo to fight on September 16
“I wanted to create another holiday for boxing,” said De La Hoya to Ring TV. “We started with Cinco de Mayo, which has become the date for the sport, and then you have September 16th.
“We’re looking forward to it with a fight with Canelo, which we’re still working on. It’s exhilarating, and we’re close to getting a deal done,” said De La Hoya.
People want to see Canelo face someone talented and young in his next fight and not another older fighter. He fought 36-year-old Sergey Kovalev last November, and he looked older than his age.
Canelo will probably end up facing Jaime Munguia, Anthony Dirrell, or David Lemieux. Those are weak choices, but they fit in with some of Canelo’s recent picks for opponents.
Fans would like to see Canelo fight one of these fighters:
- Dmitry Bivol
- Sergiy Derevyanchenko
- Demetrius Andrade
- Jermall Charlo
- Artur Beterbiev
- David Benavidez
- Callum Smith
- Caleb Plant
Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing is still hopeful that he can salvage the deal between his fighter Billy Joe Saunders and Canelo. Hearn knows the offer that Saunders had previously to face Canelo for May 2 is no longer on the table.
Saunders would be a weaker opponent for Canelo than any of the fighters, as mentioned above. The fact that Canelo was previously in negotiations to face Saunders gives you an idea about his self-belief. If Canelo believed that he could beat the top 168 and 175-pounders, he wouldn’t have been targeting the light-hitting finesse fighter Saunders.
The dynamics are different now, with Canelo’s next fight likely to be held behind closed doors or with a small crowd.
Golden Boy figuring out the venue for Canelo
“We have to figure out the crowds, and figure if we’re going to go to Las Vegas, New York or Texas,” continued De La Hoya on Canelo’s next fight.
“We have to figure out the capacity. Are we going to have 50% capacity, or are we going to have 25% capacity? It all depends on the various commission sin in every state. But July 4, I wanted to create that holiday,” said Oscar.
Staging the fight behind closed doors isn’t an ideal situation for Canelo, but he may have to settle for that. There still isn’t a vaccine, and it’s difficult to guess what the situation will be in terms of crowds being allowed into fights three months from now.
Taking Canelo’s next fight out of the U.S is probably not an option for him because he’s been fighting in the States for many years. For Canelo to defend his WBA ‘regular’ super-middleweight title in a foreign country, he would need one of the countries to pay a tremendous site. Canelo prefers to fight in the U.S, and the idea of him going anywhere else isn’t realistic.
