The drama surrounding Canelo Alvarez and his next fight continues to provide twists and turns ahead of the official confirmation.
World Boxing News understands Terence Crawford is willing to agree on any terms Canelo stipulates in a bid to land the fight on May 4.
Following Canelo’s admission that Crawford is out for Cinco de Mayo due to his size, Crawford hopes to salvage the battle with zero options.
Canelo Alvarez versus who knows?
Canelo had told Box Azteca: “I have everything to lose. I have nothing to gain [fighting Terence Crawford] because if I win, they’ll say, ‘Oh, he was too small.'”
Crawford is now in panic mode, believing his name would be sufficient collateral to secure a massive Pay Per View. Moving up 21 pounds is seemingly not getting the job done.
WBN believes “Bud” will allow Canelo an even more significant upside to the PPV terms if the Mexican superstar makes a final U-turn. But with less than two weeks to the official announcement for May 4, Crawford seems far from landing a three-weight undisputed shot.
Now, Canelo is more likely to face Jermall Charlo despite the middleweight’s denial of ongoing talks. Charlo is on holiday. Al Haymon will negotiate the deal anyway and inform his fighter of his terms upon returning to the USA.
The only other option would be mandatory challenger David Benavidez. But unless Canelo has a major curveball lined up like the one where he faced Amir Khan in 2016, Benavidez or another significant name seems to be off the menu.
Looking at the current rankings, only Edgar Berlanga would make any sense. That’s based on Canelo’s ‘I’m fighting an American’ speech on Mexican TV. Even then, Canelo would face a massive backlash from fans if he chose Berlanga over Benavidez.
An American opponent
Jaime Munguia is out of the picture based on nationality, as all roads seem to point to allowing Charlo the chance to avenge his twin brother’s loss last September.
Jermell was given a boxing lesson in Las Vegas and looked out of sorts. Based on that performance, there aren’t many getting excited over the prospect of Jermall being next.
However, when Canelo signed a three-fight deal with Premier Boxing Champions with a mega-money guarantee. Back then, the plan was reported to be Charlo-Charlo-Benavidez.
In a significant development to that blueprint, Benavidez’s promoter Sampson Lewkowicz says Canelo doesn’t want the fight anytime soon.
“Canelo’s legacy will be stained. It was stained as he did not fight the best at this time, which is Benavidez,” Sampson told Pro Box TV. “I think the children, maybe the grandchildren one day, will ask him why he did not fight Benavidez.
“He says he wants the best fights, But that’s the best fight,” he added.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer and has been the Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
