When is Canelo Alvarez's next fight?
For those that were anticipating the fall of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, they'll have to continue waiting.
Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) successfully defended his undisputed super middleweight championship against Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs), winning a wide unanimous decision in a largely one-sided affair.
The judges scored the match 119-108 and 118-109 twice, with a knockdown in the seventh round by Alvarez being the punctuation mark in the win. Alvarez put forth his best performance in the last few years.
"This Canelo, nobody can beat this Canelo," Alvarez emphatically stated to Showtime's Jim Gray after the fight. "Boxing is my life. Boxing made me the person that I am today."
The victory marked the third defense of his title since winning the crown in November 2021 when he stopped Caleb Plant.
Now that the bout with Charlo is behind him, the focus will be on what is next for the Mexican superstar. As the sport's biggest box office draw and arguably its most important mainstream superstar, Alvarez can choose any direction. There are quite a few options available to him.
At super middleweight, the fight that most fans and pundits have been clamoring to see Alvarez in the most is against David Benavidez.
Who will be Canelo's next opponent when he fights again?
The 26-year-old Benavidez currently holds the interim WBC super middleweight title. He is the top contender for Alvarez at super middleweight. Benavidez is seemingly in line to face the often-avoided former middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade later this year.
Should Benavidez vanquish Andrade, a fight between him and Alvarez will be one of the biggest in the history of the super middleweight division, not only from a box office perspective but with the potential for the fight to be an all-time action classic.
Over the last two years, Alvarez has fought during the traditional Mexican boxing months of May and September. It's possible that he could step in the ring sooner, in November or February, as he did in 2021. However, it's unlikely that we'll see the 33-year-old step in the ring more than twice per year from this point forward.
“Cinco de Mayo,” Alvarez said. "Whoever, I don't care. We're going to see who's next."
Last year's fighter of the year, Dmitry Bivol, has been missing in action in 2023, but a rematch with Alvarez in 2024 could still be a possibility.
Alvarez did sign a three-fight deal with Premier Boxing Champions earlier this year, but as the sport's cash cow, he has more pull than any other fighter.
If it's next May when we see Alvarez back in the ring, as always, it's sure to be another major event.
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