By Dan Ambrose: Eddie Hearn reportedly offered Golden Boy Callum Smith, John Ryder, Demetrius Andrade, and Dmitry Bivol for Canelo Alvarez to fight on September 12, but he’s not received a reply. That’s what @MikeCoppinger is saying Hearn told him.
This doesn’t mean that Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) and Golden Boy won’t pick one of those four options. Golden Boy president Eric Gomez said recently that they could wait for up to August before they announce Canelo’s opponent because it’s going to take place behind closed doors.
In other words, Golden Boy doesn’t have to announce Canelo’s opponent for September 12 now because they don’t need to worry about selling tickets for the fight. However, it would be better for DAZN if Golden Boy announces Canelo’s fight as soon as possible so that they can get back some of their lost subscribers.
DAZN better off if Canelo’s next opponent announced soon
It’s better or DAZN to have Canelo’s next opponent announced now rather than waiting until a month or even weeks before the fight. Waiting until the last minute to announce Canelo’s September 12 fight will likely result in a lot of boxing fans not hearing about it until afterward.
“Eddie Hearn tells @TheAthletic he wrote to Golden Boy earlier this month to say four fighters are available to fight Canelo Alvarez on Sept. 12:
“Callum Smith, John Ryder, Demetrius Andrade, and Dmitry Bivol. So far, Hearn hasn’t received a single offer,” said @MikeCoppinger.
- Dmitry Bivol: Dmitry fights at light heavyweight, but he’s small for that division, and he can quickly move down to 168. Lately, Bivol (17-0, 11 KOs) has been calling out Canelo with no luck. Of the four fighters that Hearn offered to Golden Boy, Bivol has the least chance of getting the fight.
- Callum Smith: It might be too costly for Golden Boy to select Smith for Canelo’s next fight because he’d want to be paid well. If he’s only getting a small offer, then it’s not realistic that he would agree to take it. Also, Callum is huge at 6’2″, and be would be a risky fight for Canelo, who has been careful when choosing his opponents.
- Demetrius Andrade: Next to Bivol, Andrade has one of the least chances of getting the Canelo fight. Andrade doesn’t bring anything to the table in terms of his popularity, and he’s too dangerous.
- John Ryder: The 31-year-old ‘Gorilla’ Ryder (28-5, 16 KOs) is rumored to be the one that will get the fight with Canelo. Rick Glaser is reporting on social media that Ryder is the one that has been picked for Canelo. He thinks it’s a “solid fight.”
Ryder said to be getting Canelo fight
“News: John Ryder is finally the #Canelo opponent for September on #DAZN, a solid fight. #JohnRyder #GBP #Mexico #Oscar #DLH #Boxing #GoldenBoy #DeLaHoya,” said @RealRickGlaser1.
Ryder would be a bad pick because he’s slow, weak, and easy to hit. Canelo would take care of Ryder quickly, and boxing fans will be disappointed. John Ryder is coming off of a loss to Callum Smith in his last fight in November.
Canelo recently won the WBO 175-lb belt in beating Sergey Kovalev last November, but that was against an old guy that fought like he wasn’t even trying. That match was an odd bird.
Fans have never seen Kovalev look that passive, slow, weak, and disinterested. Some people think Kovalev look it easy on Canelo out of gratitude for being given the high-paying fight. Bivol wouldn’t fight the way Kovalev. He would come after Canelo, and make it tough.