Undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 60-2-2 (39) will face a mirror image of his last opponent in May, according to pundit Shawn Porter.
The 33-year-old Mexican superstar is coming off a wide unanimous points victory over former undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo 35-2-1 (19) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 30.
Now there is talk of Alvarez facing Jermell’s twin brother and WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo 33-0 (22) in his next fight on Cinco de Mayo.
The 33-year-old Charlo from Houston, Texas returned to the ring after a two-and-a-half year layoff late last month to outpoint Jose Benavidez Jr 28-3-1 (19) in a 10-round non-title bout scheduled for a catchweight of 163-pounds. Charlo came in heavy at 166.5-pounds.
The drums have been beating for Alvarez to defend his WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine titles against David ‘El Monstruo’ Benavidez 28-0 (24) after he walked through former two-weight world titleholder Demetrius ‘Boo Boo’ Andrade 32-1 (19) in six rounds on the same card.
But retired former world champion Porter expects Alvarez to take the seemingly easier option in Charlo.
“I think Canelo still has the drive for boxing, but probably not the drive that it takes to get in the ring and fight and contend round after round with someone like Benavidez,” Porter said to K.O. Artist Sports.
“I don’t think you guys are going to give somebody like Canelo a pass. Canelo has been a pro for almost 20 years. That’s two careers for a lot of us. I think that’s miles. I kind of think Jermall fought himself into a fight with Canelo.
“I don’t know what the business was for Canelo, but I kind of think it was for Canelo, but I kind of think it was little brother [Jermell], bigger brother [Jermall].
“Whatever the case may be, I think that could still happen.”
Another option that Porter thinks is still viable is a fight against undisputed welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford 40-0 (31).
The 36-year-old southpaw from Omaha, Nebraska added the WBC, WBA and IBF titles to his WBO strap when he delivered a one-sided beatdown to fellow lefty Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr 28-1 (22) in Las Vegas in July.
Crawford, who won the prestigious Ring Magazine world title at 147-pounds with the win, had Spence on the canvas once in the second round and twice in the seventh before the fight was stopped. He was leading on all three judges’ scorecard 79-70 at the time.
Talk of a fight between Crawford and Alvarez at 168-pounds has gone from a boil to a simmer in light of how easily the champion turned back the challenge of the smaller Charlo, but Porter still sees some value in the matchup.
“Outside of that, Bud is really talking, trying to make that fight happen,” Porter said. “I think that’s something that could happen as well.”
