Turki Alalshikh plans to match Canelo Alvarez against Hamzah Sheeraz or Chris Eubank Jr. in February, following his fight against Terence Crawford.
Canelo fights Sheeraz or Eubank?
The idea has failed to resonate with fans, who view Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) and Eubank Jr. as mediocre fighters who have been carefully maneuvered during their careers.
These are not true top-tier calibers. It’s bad enough that Canelo is facing Crawford on September 13th. Using the tomato cans, Sheeraz or Eubank Jr. would be scraping the bottom of the barrel for Alvarez.
After Hamzah’s controversial draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames last February in Riyadh, U.S fans have no interest in seeing him fight. He’s viewed as a classic example of a hype job.
Alalshikh plans Canelo’s next fight
“Then we have the second fight in February for Canelo. It’s a main fight. It’s going to be against one of the two options, Sheeraz or Eubank,” said Turki Alalshikh to Ring Magazine.
Turki already upset fans by placing Edgar Berlanga vs. Sheeraz as the main event for next month’s July 12th event on DAZN PPV in Queens, New York.. The poor ticket sales for the event clearly show that fans are NOT interested in watching this fight. That’s more of a prelim-level matchup.
Canelo needs Benavidez, Janibek
People want to see the Mexican star Canelo prove he has a spine by fighting David Benavidez, not Hamzah or Eubank Jr. in gimme fights. If Canelo lacks the backbone to fight Benavidez, he should face Janibek Alimkhanuly. Alvarez would likely veto the idea of using Janibek as an opponent because he’s dangerous, not old, small, or a hype job.
The unbeaten IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek (17-0, 12 KOs) could move up to 168 and give Canelo the type of fight he hasn’t seen since his first two bouts against Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and 2018.
Fans want actual competition for the undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo (63-2-2, 39 KOs), who has been coasting, fighting lesser fighters since his loss to Dmitry Bivol in 2022.