Canelo Alvarez has taken pride over the years in fighting on the two major Mexican holiday-associated fight weekends — Cinco de Mayo in May, Mexican Independence in September — but this year, he won’t.
Alvarez (52-1-2, 35 KO) did fight on May 4, beating Daniel Jacobs via decision, and was expected to return on Sept. 14, but he’s postponing his return, and will not be in action in September after all.
Golden Boy says the “decision was made in an effort to secure the right opponent and to do justice to the level of promotion required for a boxing star of his magnitude.”
On paper, fair enough. Alvarez, 28, has been attached to several possible opponents for the September date, but that’s now two months away and by all reports, no deal is even close to done.
“As a Mexican, it’s a responsibility and an honor to represent my country in both May and September,” said Canelo. “Those are my dates. However, as a world champion in multiple weight classes, I also have the responsibility of delivering the most exciting and competitive fights possible. That’s why Golden Boy and my team have decided to postpone the date in order to do right by my fans by promoting the best fight possible and with the best opponent possible.”
As for the Sept. 14 date, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Canelo rival Gennadiy Golovkin slip in and take that for himself with a fight on DAZN. And for Alvarez, a November or December return seems most likely, which when you combine that with other fights seemingly destined for that time frame — Ruiz-Joshua II, Wilder-Ortiz II, maybe Tyson Fury’s return — could make for a pretty big bang at the end of the year.