Canelo Alvarez will reportedly defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against Jermall Charlo in May, followed by Terence Crawford in September.
Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Knockout reports that the unbeaten Jermall (33-0, 22 KOs) and the former two-time undisputed champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) will face Canelo in 2024 for his titles on Amazon Prime PPV.
There will be much interest in a fight between Canelo and the pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford. Canelo made an excellent choice to face the unbeaten welterweight.
Jermall Charlo: Cinco de Mayo Showdown
“Everything looks like it would be [Jermall] Charlo & Crawford for Canelo in 2024, in that order,” said Salvador Rodriguez on X, talking about Canelo Alvarez’s two fights this year in May and September.
It’s been expected that Canelo (60-2-2, 39 KOs) will fight Charlo on the May 4th Cinco de Mayo holiday, but what is a surprise is the welterweight Crawford getting the chance to face Alvarez in September.
Crawford has never fought at 168 and would need to move up three weight classes to challenge Canelo for his four titles at super middleweight.
Crawford: Crossing the Divide
That might rub some boxing fans the wrong way because Crawford, 36, won’t have to work for the opportunity to face Canelo for his undisputed super middleweight championship in September.
Obviously, this is about money. It’s business. PBC is paying Canelo a lot of money for his remaining two fights on his three-fight contract with them, and they need an opponent who is popular enough to bring in the PPV buys on Amazon Prime. Crawford could do that.
That leaves out WBC interim 168-lb champion David Benavidez, who will be passed over by Canelo once again. So, if the Mexican superstar Alvarez doesn’t re-sign with PBC, that could be the end of Benavidez’s’ dreams of getting the payday fight against him.
Benavidez: Time to Move On?
It’s unclear why Benavidez is being x-ed out of the chance to fight Canelo, but it could be a combination of the whining, trash-talking, and his colossal size that caused him to be passed over for the opportunity.
As such, Benavidez should take the hint and give up on his pursuit of a fight against Canelo and move up to light heavyweight or cruiserweight already, so he can fight opposition his own size and stop killing himself making weight for the 168-lb division.
