The carousel of potential opponents continues to spin around the contract negotiations table for Canelo Alvarez.
As a rematch against Dmitry Bivol heads in the opposite direction, and days after a potential fight with WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack fell apart apparently due to an Alvarez-mandated 180-pound catchweight and rehydration clause, Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn has added a new opponent option into the mix.
“I think the Jermall Charlo fight is probably the frontrunner right now,” Hearn told “The DAZN Boxing Show.”
“I spoke to [Alvarez manager and trainer] Eddy Reynoso last week. Obviously, they wanted to fight Dmitry Bivol. We couldn’t get that one over the line just yet, so they’re looking at other options. You saw Badou Jack come out and say, ‘It’s not going to be me this time in September. I don’t think the Saudis have a date for them in September, either. It’s very fast to move at that pace.
“I wasn’t involved in [the Jack] discussions but Canelo is a 168-pound fighter, so if he’s asked for 180 pounds, I don’t think that’s overly unreasonable. You can’t criticize Canelo for asking a cruiserweight, who used to box at super middleweight, to come down and weigh five pounds over light heavyweight. You can’t just expect Saul to go, ‘Yeah, I’ll fight you at 200 pounds.’ I mean, he couldn’t even weigh more than 180 pounds, even if he tried. So, he would be giving up 20 pounds, probably 30 pounds in the ring. I know everyone loves to criticize Saul, but you can’t. It’s dangerous. He’s willing to step up to 175 to fight these guys like Bivol and Kovalev, but you can’t be stepping up to 200 or 190, or something. Actually, it shouldn’t be allowed, right?”
If the WBC middleweight champion Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) were to fight Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs), unless a catchweight were to be negotiated, it would mean Charlo would have to fight at 168 pounds for the first time in his 13-year career in order to challenge for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight title.
Hearn, who has an exclusive deal with DAZN, would also have to navigate the PBC and Showtime universe to accommodate Charlo’s affiliations
If Hearn wants to have a hand in promoting Alvarez’s fight with the undefeated American, he would have to navigate the PBC and Showtime universe to accommodate Charlo’s affiliations.
Hearn has an exclusive streaming deal with DAZN. Nine out of Alvarez’s last ten fights have been streamed on DAZN, with the exception being the Mexican star’s Nov. 2021 stoppage win against Caleb Plant on Showtime. That event was promoted by Tom Brown’s TGB Promotions.
Charlo has not fought since a unanimous decision win against Juan Macias Montiel in June 2021.
If a fight were to take place, Hearn said he doesn’t expect Charlo to be competitive against Alvarez in a September fight due to his inactivity.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.