Like it or not, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Chris Eubank Jr. is, apparently, a distinct possibility, at least if you believe recent comments made by Eubank promoter Ben Shalom of BOXXER.
The UK-based promoter, who signed the second generation star this past July to a multi-fight deal, recently revealed that talks have resumed for a May showdown with the Mexican superstar. The two sides were in negotiations over the summer for a September bout, but were unable to come to terms. Alvarez would eventually end up facing Edgar Berlanga on his usual Mexican Independence Day weekend date in Las Vegas.
“For me the two fights for me are Canelo and Conor Benn. We’ve already started small conversations around the Canelo fight,” Shalom told Sky Sports.
“Obviously that [Canelo fight] was close last time. I believe that’s a fight that interests Canelo. You can imagine the press conference in the UK and the US, it would be absolutely huge.
“I think Canelo needs dance partners but he also needs stars. I don’t think his last couple of opponents have been the biggest stars and Chris Eubank Jr’s certainly a big star.
“If he’s ever going to fight in the UK, that’s the fight and that would sell out Wembley Stadium. That’s No 1 on the list for me.”
Eubank, himself, fancies the idea (and the payday) and believes he’ll be negotiating from a position of power this time as Alvarez is limited in bankable B-side opposition for this upcoming fight.
“That fight can absolutely happen within the next year,” Eubank Jr told Sky Sports. “He doesn’t have the pool of fighters available– there aren’t names left that fight fans want to see.
“After [David] Benavidez, there are no other guys. Maybe [Artur] Beterbiev and [Dmitry] Bivol but they are not in his weight class and he probably wouldn’t go up for those guys.”
The previous Alvarez-Eubank talks eventually broke down over money issues, with Eubank claiming that “the numbers weren’t right” for a fight of that magnitude.
“For a guy who’s making 35 to 50 million a fight, don’t offer me the numbers you were offering me,” Eubank told Boxing News Online earlier this month. “To a normal guy in the street, that’s life changing. It’s not life changing to me, and I know what’s being made everywhere else, so don’t give me those numbers.”
Most likely, this road flare tossed out to media by Shalom is merely a way to get attention for his guy as a possible Canelo foe and to put the heat on Team Canelo a bit.
While Alvarez-Eubank doesn’t offer much, competitively, it would likely be an attractive option for Alvarez, who has feasted on UK fall guys throughout his career, but has never actually fought in the UK. A stadium show overseas would be a real ego boost for the 34-year-old unified super middleweight champ who seems more focused these days on unique marketing angles to sell bad fights than on actually making good fight. “Canelo in the UK” in front of 90K British fans would definitely fit the bill of what Team Alvarez looks for in this latest stage of his career.
This past September, a spurious Mexico vs. Puerto Rico angle was used to sell an unappealing bout with New York-born longshot underdog Edgar Berlanga. Prior to that, a Mexico vs. Mexico angle was used to peddle a fight with massive underdog Jaime Munguia and a king vs. king/champion vs. champion storyline was used to promote his bout with unified junior middleweight champ Jermell Charlo. And, before all of that, Alvarez faced no-hoper John Ryder in a homecoming stadium show in his native Guadalajara.
The other next-fight option for Alvarez is a bout with junior middleweight titlist Terence Crawford, which Alvarez dismissed earlier in the year as a lose-lose proposition against another naturally smaller opponent, but has since revisited as a possibility.
Paul Magno has over forty years of experience in and around the sport of boxing and has had his hand in everything from officiating to training. As a writer, his work has appeared on Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, Fight Hype, Max Boxing, Boxing.com, Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules, Overtime Heroics, Bleacher Report, and Premier Boxing Champions. He is currently the owner and managing editor or The Boxing Tribune. You can follow his Twitter/X account, @boxing_tribune, for breaking boxing news, analysis, and sometimes NSFW commentary. For Advertising, Inquiries, etc., send him an email here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com