No Boxing, No Life
By Eddie Sanchez
Canelo Alvarez lives his life and embodies the slogan, “No Boxing, No Life.” To him, this means fighting with a purpose, for his family, for his personal legacy. He seeks to put his best effort to be remembered as an all time great to his people.
This attitude is appreciated by a large portion of boxing fans, and this was rewarded when he signed an 11 fight, 365 million dollar deal with DAZN to be his exclusive broadcasting partner. This deal was so monumental that Golden Boy, Canelo’s promoter, negotiated a side deal to get additional Golden Boy boxers to be featured throughout the calendar year on DAZN as well.
After three fights, including two highlight knockout victories, Canelo is a free agent. His DAZN contract is dissolved and his relationship with Golden Boy is terminated.
The fruit of the issue has been discussed many times over: Oscar De La Hoya played both sides, left each party (Canelo and DAZN) in compromising situations regarding their contracts and found themselves in a situation where they could not meet the needs of their two partners.
This led to DAZN not wanting to pay the large guarantees to Canelo. It’s not that they did not want him to fight on their network, but rather they wanted him to fight specific opponents and Canelo was in a position where he did not have to agree to said suggestions.
Because the contract could not be followed as written, the three parties came to the agreement to end their relationship. DAZN is off the hook for the large amounts of guaranteed money they owe Canelo, Canelo has no obligation to either party and Golden Boy gets screwed out of both parties, which they deserve.
Now, I am not surprised that this is the conclusion to the saga, but I am surprised at how quickly the decision came about. This is great news for boxing fans, as Canelo is already looking towards an opponent for December.
As you can see from Mike Coppinger’s sources, Canelo Alvarez is looking towards the IBF Super Middleweight Champion, Caleb Plant (20-0, 12 KOs).
This is an interesting potential opponent. For months, guys like Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith were discussed, but given that they are DAZN fighters, Canelo probably will not consider them in the immediate future.
Another interesting wrinkle is that Caleb Plant is a PBC fighter. You know? One of Al Haymon’s guys! The man who helped guide Floyd Mayweather’s Money persona and worked alongside the all time great to build a legacy of financial dominance in the ring.
This is a great relationship for Canelo to rekindle. As you may remember, earlier in Canelo’s career, he and Golden Boy worked alongside Showtime to broadcast his fights, specifically on the undercards for Mayweather’s PPVs. The two men are familiar with each other and Canelo can trust that Al Haymon will not get in the way of his personal endeavors.
Al Haymon and PBC fight on Fox & Showtime, so Canelo will get the benefit of elite brands and PPV revenue upside. Additionally, PBC has some interesting opponents:
160:
JERMALL CHARLO
SERGIY DEREVYANCHENKO
DANIEL JACOBS
MATT KOROBOV
ERROL SPENCE JR.***
168:
CALEB PLANT
DAVID BENAVIDEZ
ANTHONY DIRRELL
ANDRE DIRRELL
J’LEON LOVE
175:
JEAN PASCAL
This is an excellent stable, and Canelo will have some very marketable fights. Al Haymon is also professional in the sense that he will not force Canelo’s hand to make him sign with PBC to be his exclusive promoter. He would treat him as a true business partner in the same manner as Floyd Mayweather, as a co-promoter.
It looks as if Canelo is likely to stick at 168 for the time being. He is at the point of his career where the top 160 pound fighters would jump at the opportunity to fight him and would move up to 168 when necessary.
Based on the list provided, the three most intriguing opponents are: Jermall Charlo, David Benavidez and Errol Spence Jr.
First, I’d like to mention that Errol Spence’s inclusion was based strictly off earlier reports of him expressing interest in the Canelo fight. Personally, I don’t think this will happen given the gap in weight. Canelo will not be dictated by Spence and drop to 160 to meet in the middle. However, it would be irresponsible to not mention the opportunity.
The two true opportunities that spark Canelo’s interest are Charlo and Benavidez.
Benavidez is a former 168 pound champion who lost his belt on the scales. I expect this to be the fight directly after Caleb Plant given that Benavidez is having trouble making the 168 pound limit. This would be a great fight and would further represent Canelo as a true player in the Super Middleweight division. Assuming he can beat both Plant and Benavidez, he will have the best resume at 168, next to Callum Smith.
Now we get to the true money fight. Jermall Charlo. Charlo is coming off of a 12 round UD victory over the rugged Sergiy Derevyanchenko. This was the first time that Charlo had gotten the full-fledged respect of the entire boxing community. In the past, PBC haters had criticized his opponents as being less-than, but this fight proved that Charlo is elite and his stock is at an all-time high.
Given that PBC likes to marinate fights, and I laid out my prediction for Canelo’s next two opponents, I believe Charlo takes on Daniel Jacobs next and Canelo and Charlo (assuming victories for each) meet in September 2021.
This timeline would cement Charlo as an elite 160 pounder and cement Canelo as a legitimate 168 pounder. Charlo would then move up in weight and set their sights on an elite PPV matchup.
In the past, I would think that the schedule I laid out would be too soon. The boxing industry moves at a snail’s pace when booking high profile fights, but there are outside factors that could lead to this opportunity.
First, Al Haymon would be motivated to make a statement with a Canelo partnership. He would want to flex his muscles and show the industry that the two of them are bringing PPVs back. Second, the pandemic has caused huge financial losses and booking highly competitive fights with fans in attendance (hopefully at a higher capacity at that time) would be the easiest way to make up for lost revenue. Third, Canelo loves competition and Charlo would have the opportunity for a true legacy building moment.
Given these scenarios, I believe an extended partnership with PBC is inevitable. Canelo may elect to keep it on a shorter-term basis and move on after three to five fights, but regardless, boxing fans will get great fights and Canelo will be back shortly.
The P4P number one fighter in the world got a taste of what life would be like without boxing and it’s clear that he is ready to step back in the ring. Now that we have some positive news regarding Canelo, boxing fans can look forward to his future. Assuming the rumors for December are true, I am ready for Canelo-Plant.
