5 Best Opponents for Canelo Alvarez's Next Fight
Being Canelo Alvarez means never having to beg for a fight.
As the reigning four-belt champion at 168 pounds and long-time claimant to the sport's undisputed pay-per-view title, the cinnamon-haired Mexican star has the unique ability to dictate nearly every detail from opponent to location to TV provider.
He returned from an injury-prompted eight-month hiatus to retake center stage Saturday night in his home country, where he dispatched unheralded challenger John Ryder by unanimous decision to keep his cache of jewelry and cue up speculation about his next foe.
The winner earned scores of 120-107 and 118-109 (twice) from the three judges.
Alvarez is expected to compete again in four months, resuming his preferred schedule of fighting both in early May and mid-September—alongside yearly celebrations of Mexico's defeat of invading French troops on May 5, 1862, and its declaration of independence from Spain on September 16, 1810—for the sixth time in the last 13 years.
The B/R combat team surveyed the landscape to determine the best possible co-stars for his next appearance and came up with a list of five best suited to fit the bill. Take a look at what we came up with, and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments section.
1. Dmitry Bivol
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These lists are typically delivered from Nos. 5 to 1.
But we'll go in ascending order this time, if for no other reason than Dmitry Bivol is the opponent whom Alvarez has specifically and publicly declared is his prime target.
Because they have history together.
And in Alvarez's mind, at least, unfinished business.
Bivol was a skilled but largely unappreciated operator a year ago when Alvarez decided he'd move up to 175 pounds to challenge the unbeaten Russian for the WBA share of the light heavyweight kingdom Bivol had overseen in full-fledged fashion since 2019.
Twelve rounds later, Alvarez had suffered his first defeat since 2013 and kindled the sort of rivalry—at least from his perspective—he'd not experienced outside of a multi-fight series with Gennadiy Golovkin that stretched from 2017 to 2022.
So, if the superstar gets his way, Bivol's got next later this summer.
"Right now," he told DAZN's Chris Mannix, "my short-term goal is a fight with Dmitry Bivol, and then we'll see."
2. David Benavidez
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The smart money, with good reason, is on Bivol.
So the remaining names on this list are best framed as conditional if that rematch doesn't get made right away or subsequent to a would-be Alvarez victory if it does.
Either way, no name surpasses David Benavidez's.
The 26-year-old Arizonan with Mexican roots has never been a hotter commodity than he is these days, thanks to two previous reigns as the WBC's champion at 168 pounds and a recent defeat of ex-champ (and loser to Alvarez) Caleb Plant that made him the sanctioning body's mandatory challenger to the title Alvarez now holds.
He's unbeaten at 27-0 with 23 KOs. He's menacing at 6'2" with a 74.5-inch reach.
And he's eager for a showdown, as he stated clearly after the Plant win in March.
"I just want to tell everyone that I have a lot of respect for Canelo Alvarez, but he has to give me that shot now," he said. "That's what everyone wants to see. Let's make it happen."
3. David Morrell
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If Benavidez is the hottest non-Canelo name at 168 pounds, David Morrell is next.
And in what seems to be record time.
The 25-year-old Cuban was a decorated amateur before defecting to the United States in 2018 and turning pro the following year. He's fought (and won) nine times in the subsequent 45 months, scoring eight KOs and picking up second-tier WBA title jewelry along the way.
But none of the wins was any more impressive or any more noticed than a violent first-round stoppage of fringe contender Yamaguchi Falcao in the final bout on the Gervonta Davis-Ryan Garcia pay-per-view production just two weeks ago in Las Vegas.
A memorable introduction for many, but just the latest win in a series for a confident youngster who's been proclaiming supremacy for a while.
"This division is mine," he told Boxing Scene in 2021. "The truth is that I am the best, but not legally because I do not have all the titles."
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4. Jermall Charlo
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Jermall Charlo may be the best fighter no one knows.
He's 32-0 with 22 KOs and title reigns in two divisions, but he's never engaged with a truly transcendent foe and has been stuck in competitive purgatory for nearly two full years since last fighting in June 2021.
That was a near shutout of Juan Macias Montiel in Houston that provided defense No. 4 of the WBC middleweight championship that Alvarez had surrendered in 2019.
And if it seems like Charlo is still chasing those footsteps, it should.
In fact, before deciding to challenge Bivol at 175 pounds last spring, Alvarez was reportedly weighing offers for either a one-off match with Charlo or the two-fight deal that he ultimately agreed to that resulted in bouts with Bivol and Golovkin.
It hasn't changed the spurned man's objective.
"I'll go out to fight in Mexico if that's what they wanna do," Charlo told EsNews. "I wanna get in the ring and fight him, man, to shut everybody up, shut up all the naysayers. It's a matter of time, in due time."
5. Artur Beterbiev
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File this one as conditionally conditional.
Presuming Alvarez beats Bivol in a rematch at 175 and decides to remain in the weight class for a while, there's little doubt he'd be fielding phone calls from another unbeaten Russian.
In this case, the name is Artur Beterbiev.
Beterbiev is a 38-year-old based in Montréal who holds the three remaining pieces—IBF, WBC and WBO—of the light heavyweight puzzle aside from Bivol's WBA title. He's been campaigning for a shot at Bivol while assembling his own belt collection across seven bouts since a first championship win in 2017.
He last appeared in January and stopped English contender Anthony Yarde in the eighth round of a scheduled 12-rounder at Wembley Stadium. And unlike Bivol, who relies on technique, the 5'11" slugger with a 73-inch reach leans more toward violence than nuance.
And that's what sells it, according to Bob Arum.
"Canelo is a risk-taker, and that makes him so popular," the veteran promoter, who works with Beterbiev, told Sky Sports. "It would be a massive fight because the betting action would go both ways. Some will say Beterbiev is too big and powerful. Others will say Canelo is special and can handle everybody. It is one of the biggest fights in boxing."
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