The boxing fandom has found itself in a baffling situation right now.
On one hand, Canelo Alvarez made the much-awaited announcement- the undisputed super middleweight champion of the world is set to return to the squared circle this 4th of May, on his favorite date of Cinco de Mayo.
Canelo was last seen in action against Jermell Charlo, the former undisputed light middleweight champion, on 30th September 2023. The fight marked Canelo’s third undisputed title defense, and he won via unanimous decision.
As the boxing fandom awaited amidst speculations regarding Canelo’s “announcement”, which had been all over the headlines earlier this week, the champ revealed his next outing- but only half the detail.
Now the question lingers: who is next in line to face the Mexican maestro?
Amidst the most probable options there are for Canelo, the two that had taken the limelight the most were Jermall Charlo and Jaime Munguia. However, both of those options are now out of consideration.
Jermall Charlo dismisses speculations, Canelo Alvarez rules out Jaime Munguia
There were speculations that Jermall will be stepping in the ring to avenge his twin brother’s loss, but the WBC middleweight champion has shut down all the speculations of him fighting Canelo this may.
“I haven’t even talked to Al Haymon since I last fought. So everybody that keeps talking about, ‘You’re about to fight Canelo,’ – ain’t no confirmation,” said Jermall on Instagram. [via FightHype]
The undefeated Jaime Munguia was also in the rumours to be a potential option for Canelo- to make the Cinco de Mayo this year to be an all-Mexican affair, only to be ruled out by Canelo himself, as he affirmed that he will be facing an American boxer on May 4.
All these essentially leave us with two options that seem to be most probable:
Terence Crawford
To see one of the best boxers in this generation against Canelo has been on the wishlist of many, and the undisputed welterweight champion in Terence Crawford appears to be the best option for another “Undisputed vs. Undisputed” showdown in May. “Bud” is fresh off winning the undisputed crown at 154 against Errol Spence Jr. in July last year.
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David Benavidez
The reigning interim WBC super middleweight champion, David Benavidez has himself made several callouts against Canelo in the past, only to be met with a cold shoulder from the Mexican. However, the undefeated 27-year-old has enough accolades to back up his resume, including his three fight reign as the interim WBC champ, including wins over David Lemieux, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade.
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