Canelo Alvarez has controlled his own career ever since severing ties with Golden Boy Promotions in 2020.
Six out of Alvarez’s last seven fights were promoted by Matchroom Boxing, with the other presented by Premier Boxing Champions in 2021 when Alvarez knocked out Caleb Plant to become the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world.
After working closely with Eddie Hearn over the last three years, Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) opted to sign a three-fight contract this summer with PBC that will culminate with two more fights in 2024.
Alvarez’s first fight as part of the new deal with PBC kicks off Sept. 30 against Jermell Charlo (35-1-1, 19 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Showtime pay-per-view.
Alvarez ultimately aligned with the Al Haymon-led PBC due to the quality of contenders available in the PBC stable.
“I think it’s good fights in PBC. I always like to work with good people and the best out there. I think PBC is one of the best,” Alvarez told BoxingScene.com in an interview. “We don’t know [who the next two opponents will be.] We’re 100% focused on Jermell. And then we’re going to sit down with Al Haymon and see what is next.”
Alvarez’s run with Hearn featured a line-up of opponents including Callum Smith, Avni Yildirim, Billy Joe Saunders, Dmitry Bivol, Gennadiy Golovkin, and John Ryder.
With PBC, Alvarez could face the likes of David Benavidez, Demetrious Andrade, and David Morrell as well as Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr. and Jermall Charlo should they choose to move up to 168 pounds.
“I really like Al Haymon and I’m happy to be here,” Alvarez said on a recent episode of the PBC Podcast, adding that Haymon is a “great person” and “great businessman.”
During the kickoff press conference in New York, the Mexican star also highlighted his new alliances.
“We love being involved in these kinds of fights. Al Haymon, thank you for this too. Showtime, everybody involved. I think right now the best promoters are Canelo Promotions and PBC,” said Alvarez.
Earlier this week, Hearn admitted that he was not surprised to see Alvarez leave the Matchroom nest for greener pastures with PBC.
“We talk socially every now and again, but he made the best move for his career,” said Hearn. “And I think he did make the best move. I didn’t have any options for him at all, really. As close as we are and as friendly as we are, it don’t really work like that. Once that offer got presented to him, I think he made the right decision.
“I’ve long been a fan of Canelo Alvarez before we even represented him. We had a tremendous run … we made him hundreds of millions of dollars. He made us a lot of money as well. I loved working for him. I think we did a brilliant job. I think he enjoyed his time with us and I hope, subject to how long he goes on for, that we get the opportunity to do it again.
“I’m sure we’ll catch up later this year. I hope he beats Charlo.”
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.