The Latest on Canelo Alvarez: Chris Eubank Jr. Emerges as Possible Next Opponent

Hot off the heels of Tuesday’s rumor that Edgar Berlanga and Jermall Charlo were the favorites to land the role of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s next big-money B-side, comes yet another name to toss into the mix.

According to ESPN Boxeo’s Salvador Rodriguez, who tweeted the Berlanga/Charlo rumor as well, second-generation star Chris Eubank Jr. has now emerged as yet another possibility for the 33-year-old Mexican superstar and unified super middleweight champ. As a matter of fact, Rodriguez even rates Eubank as the favorite to land the fight right now.

Rodriguez has been hit-and-miss with his reporting, but he’s usually near-on the money when it comes to scoops on Canelo.

The UK’s Eubank (33-3, 24 KOs), who is the son of former two-division former world champ Chris Eubank, is coming off a tenth-round TKO of Liam Smith to avenge a controversial fourth-round TKO to Smith eight months prior. His best and most noteworthy performances have come in victories over Smith, James DeGale, Arthur Abraham, and Matt Korobov, as well as in close losses to George Groves and former Canelo foe, Billy Joe Saunders.

Why Chris Eubank Jr.?

It’s easy to see why a bout with Eubank would be an attractive one to Alvarez and his team. As a matter of fact, this writer has been naming Eubank as a potential Canelo opponent for years. Eubank’s name value is probably greater than anyone else’s on the short list of potential opponents, with the exception of David Benavidez.

Fighting the Brit also opens the door to a possible first-ever fight overseas for Canelo if the decision is made to energize things a bit and take his show to the UK for a one-off event. This, actually, could be the perfect business move (albeit a cynical one) to deflect from criticisms over Alvarez not fighting David Benavidez next and also from losing his Mexican Independence Day weekend spot in Las Vegas to the UFC for a second straight year.

Canelo Going Overseas?

Alvarez has certainly beaten enough Brits to make an extra big name for himself in the UK and a stadium show would be a big hit over there. The spectacle would also appeal to Alvarez, himself, who seems to be much more about appeasing his ego these days than further cementing his spot in boxing history. In May of last year, Canelo returned to his native Guadalajara for a stadium show against UK gatekeeper John Ryder that was partially funded by the Mexican government, but still managed to lose a good amount of money for event organizers.

Canelo-Eubank Jr. has that Canelo-Ryder vibe to it, only with a UK soccer stadium hosting and a more talented foe as the fall guy. Ultimately, it’s a stall tactic, a distraction, a way to throw sand into the eyes of an increasingly skeptical fan base that really, really only wants Alvarez to fight one guy– Benavidez– and is now starting to ask why Canelo won’t give them that fight.

Again, though, these are all rumors as of now. Eubank, Berlanga, Charlo– none of them are confirmed for Alvarez and it’ll probably be awhile until we get any sort of actual confirmation. Welterweight champ Terence Crawford, who is battling for a junior middleweight title on August 3 against Israil Madrimov, has also been mentioned as a possible opponent.