Canelo Alvarez vs Avni Yildirim to land in United States, not Mexico

Canelo Alvarez hasn’t fought in Mexico since 2011, and that’s not likely to change anytime soon. Though he’d initially intended to face WBC mandatory super middleweight challenger Avni Yildirim in his native Guadalajara this upcoming February, ESPN reports that the fight will instead take place stateside due to COVID.

Per the article, he still intends to pursue a May clash with Billy Joe Saunders, which would also take place in the States.

Mexico currently boasts one of the highest coronavirus case-fatality ratios in the world, with a staggering 8.8% of cases resulting in death. While there’s still boxing going on in the nation, someplace like Texas would offer a monumentally larger live gate.

Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KO) was 21 years old the last time he laced up the gloves below the border, knocking out former champion Kermit Cintron in five. His next fight saw him return to Las Vegas to overpower a shot Shane Mosley and he’s fought exclusively in the United States since.

Yildirim (21-2, 12 KO), who’s coming up on two years since his loss to Anthony Dirrell, has twice fought in North America, beating Glen Johnson in 2015 and falling to the aforementioned Dirrell.