Here's who Canelo should fight next and here's who he shouldn't
Plus tons of random thoughts: Charlo mailed it in; inactivity ruins fighters; Zurdo's ideal foe; Wood-Warrington non-controversy; Ruddock-Toney is gross; way too much PPV; easy fight picks
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So now that Canelo Alvarez has retained the undisputed super middleweight title by easily routing undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo in a fight in which Charlo got knocked down and was not remotely competitive, what’s next for Canelo, who plans to be back in action for the second fight of his three-fight PBC deal in May on Cinco de Mayo weekend?
During his post-fight in-ring interview, Canelo was asked by Showtime’s Jim Gray about possible future opponents and he said (as he usually does), “I don’t fucking care.”
Well, I care who he fights next, as do most boxing fans. Here are my top fights for Canelo in order as well as potential foes I’m not interested in seeing him face:
Want to see
1. David Benavidez, who is numero uno, hands down. If Alvarez is the undisputed champion then Benavidez is the undisputed No. 1 contender. He also happens to hold the WBC interim belt, meaning he is poised to be made the organization’s manager challenger. Of course, first he would have to defeat Demetrius Andrade — by no means a guarantee — when they fight Nov. 25 in order to hold his position on my list. If he does that, a fight with Canelo is huge fight. It’s a big promotion between Mexican and Mexican-American on the Mexican holiday and it shapes up as a fantastic action fight in the ring. Benavidez is also with PBC, which makes pretty straightforward to make.
2. Terence Crawford, the undisputed welterweight champion. Following Crawford’s destruction of Errol Spence Jr., a possible fight with Canelo became a thing. Crawford would have to move up three divisions and while I think he’d have a better chance to beat Canelo than Charlo, who moved up two divisions, Crawford still faces an uphill battle. But I like big events and there is zero doubt in my mind that Canelo-Crawford is a massive, massive event that would interest the public. If I can’t get Canelo-Benavidez, bring on Crawford.
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