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Canelo Alvarez's contract negotiations continue to revolve around a carousel of potential rivals.
Matchroom Boxing president Eddie Hearn has added a new opponent option to the mix as a rematch against Dmitry Bivol moves in the opposite direction and days after a potential bout with WBC cruiserweight champion Badou Jack fell through ostensibly because Alvarez mandated 180-pound catchweight and rehydration clause.
“I think the Jermall Charlo fight is probably the frontrunner right now,” Hearn told “The DAZN Boxing Show.”
“I spoke to [Alvarez manager and trainer] Eddy Reynoso last week. Obviously, they wanted to fight Dmitry Bivol. We couldn’t get that one over the line just yet, so they’re looking at other options. You saw Badou Jack come out and say, ‘It’s not going to be me this time in September. I don’t think the Saudis have a date for them in September, either. It’s very fast to move at that pace.
“I wasn’t involved in [the Jack] discussions but Canelo is a 168-pound fighter, so if he’s asked for 180 pounds, I don’t think that’s overly unreasonable. You can’t criticize Canelo for asking a cruiserweight, who used to box at super middleweight, to come down and weigh five pounds over light heavyweight. You can’t just expect Saul to go, ‘Yeah, I’ll fight you at 200 pounds.’ I mean, he couldn’t even weigh more than 180 pounds, even if he tried. So, he would be giving up 20 pounds, probably 30 pounds in the ring. I know everyone loves to criticize Saul, but you can’t. It’s dangerous. He’s willing to step up to 175 to fight these guys like Bivol and Kovalev, but you can’t be stepping up to 200 or 190, or something. Actually, it shouldn’t be allowed, right?”
If Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs), the undisputed super middleweight champion, were to fight WBC middleweight champion Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs), Charlo would have to fight at 168 pounds for the first time in his 13-year career in order to compete for Alvarez's title.