By Sean Jones: Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez wants to fight in London in December, and he plans on matching him against a British fighter.
It’s a bit early for Canelo (57-1-2, 39 KOs) to be looking towards a soft touch in the UK for December, but the Mexican star’s confidence obviously has soured after becoming the undisputed 168-lb champion in 2021.
For Canelo, 31, this will be the third fight of his three-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing & DAZN this year, coming after his May 7th clash against WBA 175-lb champion Dmitry Bivol and trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17th.
If Canelo gets through those two and that’s a big IF, taking a fight against his WBA super-middleweight mandatory challenger John ‘The Gorilla’ Ryder could be viewed as him rewarding himself after two grueling fights this year.
“Canelo wants to fight in London in December,” Hearn said to talkSPORT. “So John Ryder or [the winner of] Joshua Buatsi vs Craig Richards. We’re well-placed to provide him for one of those fights in London.
“Buatsi vs Richards is a fight where the winner can stake a claim to be in those kinds of fights with Canelo,” said Hearn.
Ryder (31-5, 17 KOs) is arguably nowhere near the talent of Canelo’s WBC mandatory David Benavidez, but it’s not surprising that the Mexican star is looking for an easy fight.
Many boxing fans believe Canelo will NEVER fight Benavidez because he’s too good, and would beat him soundly, and spoil his nine-year run of success since his loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013.
Although Hearn says the winner of the May 21st fight between light heavyweights Joshua Buatsi vs. Craig Richards is a possibility for Canelo to fight in December, it’s highly unlikely that’ll happen.
It’s almost a given that Canelo will face the 33-year-old Ryder, who is coming off a questionable 12-round split decision win over a shot-looking Daniel Jacobs on February 12th.
“You need to go out there and be involved in a big fight like that at the O2 to start calling out a legend like Canelo Alvarez. He’s going to want a dance partner in the UK,” said Hearn.
Again, it’s presumptuous on Canelo’s part to be looking past Bivol and Golovkin towards a fight in December in the UK.
Canelo isn’t good enough to be looking beyond his fights with Bivol and Golovkin because those guys have the talent to beat, as long as the judging is top-rate.
