Canelo Alvarez reportedly has three options for his next fight in May, with Jermall Charlo, Terence Crawford & Jaime Munguia being the ones who are in the running.
This will be undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez’s second fight of his three-fight PBC deal, so it’s important that he selects an opponent that will attract PPV buys.
A final decision by the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo will be made shortly. Unfortunately for David Benavidez, his name didn’t make the cut for Alvarez’s fight in May, but he’s a potential option for September, according to ESPN Knockout.
If Benavidez wants to improve his chances of fighting Canelo, he must stop avoiding David Morrell Jr. and get it over with. That’s a fight Benavidez must take if he wants to become a shoo-in for the September clash against Canelo because if he doesn’t do that, it’s probably over with for him.
That’s the last fight on Canelo’s three-fight contract with PBC, and he won’t give Benavidez a hand out once his contract is over, especially with him cherry-picking old guys left & right and swerving Morrell like the plague.
David Benavidez needs a solid win
Benavidez won’t be happy about being left out of Canelo’s plans for May, but that’s how it goes. It would be good for ‘The Mexican Monster’ to increase his chances of getting the fight with Canelo by taking a risk with his career by facing David Morrell Jr. and not running from him like many fans believe he’s been doing.
It won’t work if Benavidez & his dad, Jose Sr., dig up another old guy to pad his record with because he’s become very obvious that he’s trying to avoid getting exposed by Morrell. If you’re Canelo, you need to spell it out to Benavidez in clear terms. If he wants the fight, he must take on Morrell and stop running from him.
It’s essential that the superstar Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) face an opponent that will resonate with U.S. boxing fans, which pretty much rules out Munguia. A fight between Canelo & Munguia would do well with fans in Mexico but not in America.
He’s coming off a poor performance against Sergiy 38-year-old Derevyanchenko, and he’s not popular with Americans, who just see him as a guy who has been matched against lesser opposition his entire ten-year career.
Jermall Charlo in pole position
It would seem fairly obvious who will be the lucky one of the three who gets the opportunity to make life-changing money against Canelo in May, and that’s Jermall Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs). He’s the only one of the three fighters on Canelo’s shortlist who doesn’t have a fight that will be taking place in early 2024.
Canelo’s three options for May 2024
- Jermall Charlo: Unbeaten Jermall (33-0, 22 KOs) could be the guy who ultimately gets the call to face Canelo for his next fight in May on Cinco de Mayo.
- Terence Crawford: The Omaha, Nebraska native has a rematch against Errol Spence in early 2024, possibly in February, so he’s not a solid option. If not for Crawford’s mandatory rematch with Spence, he would be an ideal choice for Canelo, as it would be a big-money fight and attract much interest. Canelo needs to fight the 36-year-old Crawford while he’s still got the attention on him from his recent stoppage win over Spence. If Canelo waits too long, Crawford might look bad against one of the 154-pounders like Tim Tszyu or Jermell.
- Jaime Munguia: The Golden Boy-promoted Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) would need to get through his January 27th fight against John Ryder with a win and be injury-free to get the call to face Canelo in May.
