Canelo Alvarez’s trainer/manager, Eddy Reynoso, revealed that if they’re victorious against Edgar Berlanga on September 14th, they plan to fight in December in Japan.
Reynoso didn’t say who Canelo (61-2-2, 39 KOs) will fight in Japan. There aren’t any Japanese fighters close to Canelo’s weight class, but perhaps they have an offer for a crossover fighter willing to come from a different sport to face Alvarez.
Japan wouldn’t be an ideal location for Canelo to face Terence Crawford because it’s a match that would bring in big numbers if it’s staged in the States. That’s a fight that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is interested in putting together. However, Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout reports that Team Canelo isn’t “close” to accepting the offers from Turki for a fight. He doesn’t say which fight, but it would seem likely that he’s referring to the Crawford match.
For a fight of that magnitude, Canelo would rightfully ask for $200 million because Floyd Mayweather Jr. earned $240M for his fight against Manny Pacquiao in 2015.
Crawford obviously isn’t in the same league as Pacquiao was back then, but due to its oddity, this fight could still make a lot of money. Crawford would be moving up two divisions after fighting just once at 154 to face Canelo at 168.
Crawford didn’t look good last weekend, winning a controversial decision against WBA 154-lb champion Israil Madrimov, but casual fans won’t care. They’ll still be interested in seeing Canelo fight Crawford.
Fans in the U.S. would prefer Canelo stay in the States and fight a live body, like David Benavidez, because he’s been taking it easy with mismatches lately since his loss to Dmitry Bivol in 2022. It appears that Canelo is on a retirement tour, facing weak opposition exclusively before hanging up his gloves.
We’ve seen Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight a couple of non-boxers in exhibition matches in Japan. Recently, Manny Pacquiao fought a non-boxer Rukiya Anpo last July in an exhibition match in Japan. Perhaps Canelo is going in that direction and joining in the well-paying fun.
“Team Canelo told me that they are not close to the offers that Turki [Alalshikh] makes, but if they beat [Edgar] Berlanga in September, as they hope, Canelo
could fight in Japan in December. The plan is to go beyond the American continent,’ said Salvador Rodriguez on X, discussing a potential location for Canelo Alvarez’s next fight this year.
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