Today is the Face of Boxing’s birthday, Canelo Alvarez, who turns 34, heading into his next fight in September against potentially Chris Eubank Jr. or Edgar Berlanga.
Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) has stayed busy since his last birthday, defeating Jaime Munguia and Jermell Charlo by impressive decisions and holding onto his undisputed super middleweight throne.
Now the question is which fighter will get the golden ticket to make life-changing money against the superstar Canelo in September.
British fighter Eubank Jr’s name has been mentioned recently. Still, he could be problematic to negotiate a deal with, and Canelo may need to move on if he becomes too much of a time-consuming headache.
It would be different if the 34-year-old Eubank Jr. were popular but unknown to U.S. casual boxing fans. He’s only one fight removed from being knocked out by Liam Smith, one of Canelo’s old victims from 2016.
The other other option, Edgar Berlanga, isn’t much better. He’s been maneuvered by his former promoters at Top Rank and current one, Matchroom, to where he’s been steered around the dangerous threats that could have beaten him.
Although Berlanga’s record is 22-0, there’s not one quality win among them. If Berlanga had at least fought a notable fighter like David Benavidez, Jaime Munguia, or David Morrell, he would be a respectable candidate to face King Canelo in his royal court in September.
If Canelo is going to fight a contender who doesn’t yet rate a title shot, these would be better options than Berlanga and Eubank Jr:
- Christian Mbilli
- Diego Pacheco
- Hamzah Sheeraz: Drag him up from 160
- Caleb Plant: Rematch
It would be interesting for fans to see Canelo fight Mbilli or Sheeraz. Those two fighters are all offensive and would bring drama to the ring. They likely wouldn’t be difficult to negotiate a deal with, and there would be less backlash from the boxing public if Canelo chose one of them than if he selected Berlanga with his plastic record or the underachieving Eubank Jr.
Happy birthday, @Canelo 👑🥳 pic.twitter.com/RyN9rHAvPL
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) July 18, 2024
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