Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 56-1-2 (38) will not fight on September 18 as planned after his team ran out of time to secure an opponent.
The WBC, WBA and WBO super middleweight champion had his heart set on facing IBF titleholder Caleb ‘Sweethands’ Plant 21-0 (12) in a rare four-belt unification bout on the date, but negotiations repeatedly hit roadblocks that nixed the fight for now.
Alvarez, 31, is now expected to return to the ring in either late October or early November. The Plant fight is still the target, with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol 18-0 (11) and a third fight against Gennadiy ‘GGG’ Golovkin 41-1-1 (36) possible backup options. The Bivol fight would likely take place at a catchweight while the Golovkin fight would give the Kazakh bomber the opportunity to avenge his close loss and draw to Alvarez at middleweight.
ESPN’s Mike Coppinger broke the news on Friday that the fight date scheduled for Mexican Independence Weekend on September 18 was scratched due to “prolonged negotiations for two different fights, Alvarez has decided to move his next bout to November, promoter Eddie Hearn told ESPN on Friday.”
Coppinger added: “Alvarez was closing in on a deal to meet Caleb Plant on Sept 18 for the undisputed 168-pound championship, but the pact fell apart at the 11th hour. Alvarez was set to earn more than $40 million guaranteed, with Plant earning upward of $10 million. The proposed bout would have seen Alvarez return to pay-per-view (PBC on Fox); Alvarez’s last six fights were streamed by DAZN.”
“We were negotiating with Plant and both sides couldn’t come to terms and we also negotiated with Bivol,” Reynoso said to The Ring.
“But overall, with the negotiations going back and forth, the time got too short for us for a promotion on September 18th. When the time got that close, we decided on a decision.
“What was in our best interest was to make the fight the fourth week of October or maybe the first two weeks of November.
“We think that’s what is best for everyone.
“Back in December, Saul and I decided that we had our plan and our mindset on a unification at 168 pounds. That was our goal and that was our priority. Caleb Plant has the last belt at 168 and the negotiations fell apart, but there is a possibility there could be other options in October or November.
“But the priority has always been to unify and make history at 168. I have a great relationship with Al Haymon. There are options out there. It could be Caleb Plant, it could be Bivol, it could be GGG.
“Everything is possible. But I’ll tell you what, Saul will fight before the year ends.
“It’s going to be a good fight, a fight that the people will want and will be a benefit to Saul’s career and his legacy.”
