Canelo Alvarez and PBC have parted ways, with the Mexican star now headed to DAZN for fights against Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia. Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) will be teaming up again with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who will be overjoyed to have the Mexican star return to his company.
Mike Coppinger of ESPN has confirmed that Canelo and PBC have “mutually agreed to part ways” with “two fights remaining of a three-fight deal.”
Jermall Charlo Deal Falls Through
Canelo had wanted to fight Jermall Charlo on May 4th on Amazon Prime PPV, but his negotiations with PBC fell apart, wrecking his plans to defend against the 34-year-old.
What spoiled things for Jermall was the way his twin, Jermell Charlo, performed last September in his one-sided loss to Canelo. That was so one-sided that it carried, destroying any chances of creating interest for a Jermall fight on PPV.
PBC wanted Canelo to take the fight with Jaime Munguia on May 4th, but he didn’t want to use him as his opponent for that date. Canelo could face Munguia in September, albeit on DAZN as part of a Matchroom-promoted fight now that he’s no longer with PBC.
Why Did The Deal Collapse?
What further hurt the chances of a Canelo-Jermall fight was how Jermall looked in his recent victory over welterweight Jose Benavidez Jr. last November.
Charlo appeared sluggish coming off a 29-month to labor his way a dull ten round unanimous decision against a fighter that had been knocked out in the past by Terence Crawford. Jermall should have been able to destroy Benavidez Jr. if he’d put it on him, but he couldn’t do it.
With how Jermall looked in that fight, selling a PPV match between him and Canelo on Amazon Prime would have been virtually impossible for PBC.
What Does This Mean for Canelo?
Now that Canelo has left PBC, he has more freedom to select his opponents, which he values. He doesn’t want to be told who he must fight at this point in his career, especially what he’s accomplished in the sport. Canelo is the King of boxing in North America, and he deserves to choose who he should fight.
Besides the fights against Berlanga and Munguia this year, exciting options for Canelo would be to face the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol winner in Saudi Arabia.
There’s a lot of money for Canelo to make fighting the winner of that fight, and it would further cement his legacy. If Canelo stays at 168, he can fight Terence Crawford or David Benavidez if the monstrously-sized fighter returns from the 175-lb division after his summer clash against Oleksandr Gvozyk.