Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn has promoted six out of Canelo Alvarez’s last seven fights.
The seventh Hearn-promoted Alvarez event will take place on May 6 in Guadalajara, Mexico when the undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) defends his titles against British challenger John Ryder (32-5, 18 KOs).
The clash against the ascending Ryder is somewhat of a tuneup bout for Alvarez considering the Mexican star had a rocky 2022 marked by a loss to Dmitry Bivol, an unspectacular win against Gennadiy Golovkin, and left-hand surgery.
Alvarez’s return to the ring in September around Mexican Independence Day is shaping up to be a rematch against Bivol.
After David Benavidez (27-0, 23 KOs) beat former Alvarez rival Caleb Plant via unanimous decision, serious steam picked up once again for the former two-time WBC 168-pound champion Benavidez to get the opportunity to challenge Alvarez.
With his victory against Plant, Benavidez is now the WBC’s No. 1 challenger to the belt Alvarez currently owns.
“Eddy Reynoso already asked me months ago to do the John Ryder fight. If we can’t get the Bivol fight done, absolutely. Benavidez is also the [WBC] mandatory. We talked about the mandatory situation,” Hearn told Seconds Out.
“He’s going to have to fight him at some stage. Trust me when I say, having worked with Canelo Alvarez and Eddy Reynoso, they will work with anyone. They don’t care. When you talk about Mexican Monsters – did you see what Canelo Alvarez did to Caleb Plant? He put him out, and Benavidez is a great fighter.
“There’s a difference between hitting him with everything and putting him out cold, and that’s what Canelo did. So for me, I’ll back Canelo all day long.
“The next fight [for Alvarez] is Bivol. Contractually, we have to go through that process for the rematch. We’re already close to making that fight.”
Hearn teased that a fight between Alvarez and Benavidez could potentially take place in the future.
Benavidez has proclaimed that he will move up to 175 pounds if fights against Alvarez, David Morrell, Jermall Charlo, or Demetrius Andrade don’t materialize.
“I think Benavidez is a great fighter, and after he’s fought Ryder and Bivol, I would like to see that fight, and ultimately the governing bodies would as well,” said Hearn.
“David Benavidez is a much easier fight for Canelo than Bivol at 175. As good as Benavidez, and it’s a great fight, but it’s a lot easier fight than Bivol at 175.
“You have to understand as well that personally, for Canelo Alvarez is that all he’s thinking about beyond John Ryder is avenging that defeat [against Bivol]. That’s the most important thing in his career is beating Dmitry Bivol because everyone is going, ‘that’s a bad fight for you. I don’t think you should take that fight.’
“That’s the worse thing you can say to Canelo Alvarez … but personally, he has to avenge that defeat.
“Also, Benavidez has a three-fight deal with PBC. They’re talking about it’s already mapped out with [David] Morrell, [Jermall] Charlo, but whatever. But for Canelo, it’s going to be Ryder and Bivol, and then after that, why not David Benavidez? I think it’s a great fight.”
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.