Tag Archives: Al Haymon

Canelo Alvarez to Fight Jermell Charlo in Las Vegas This September

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Canelo Alvarez has lined up his next opponent, but it’s not the person most expected it to be.

The 32-year-old Mexican professional boxer, the sport’s top star at the moment, has announced on social media that he’ll fight Jermell Charlo rather than his twin brother, Jermall, on September 30 in Las Vegas, the first meeting of undisputed champions in the four-belt era.

Canelo AlvarezAlvarez holds all four super middleweight titles while Charlo owns all four belts at 154 pounds. The bout, which is expected to be a Showtime PPV event, will be contested at 168 pounds for Alvarez’s undisputed championship, per ESPN sources.

Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) was lined up for a fight with Jermall Charlo, the WBC champion at 160 pounds, after he met with PBC founder Al Haymon in the Cleveland area earlier in June.

But earlier this week, Alvarez’s team was informed that Jermall wouldn’t be available to fight in September, sources said. The sides pivoted to Jermell, who sits just outside ESPN’s pound-for-pound list but has never competed above 154 pounds, and the matchup was finalized on Friday, sources said.

ESPN Deportes reported earlier Friday that Jermall needed more time to get in shape because he has not fought since June 2021, when he scored a unanimous decision win over Juan Macias Montiel. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said last month that Jermall’s inactivity is due to mental health.

Alvarez, a future Hall of Famer from Mexico, struck a three-fight deal with PBC earlier in June, with the other two fights expected to take place on Cinco De Mayo Weekend and Mexican Independence Day Weekend in 2024, sources said.

Alvarez’s preferred September 16 date wasn’t available in Las Vegas due to a UFC event on the same night at T-Mobile Arena.

Canelo is coming off a unanimous-decision victory over John Ryder in May in a Mexico homecoming in Guadalajara. The win was Alvarez’s first fight since he underwent left wrist surgery in October.

In May 2022, Canelo moved up to light heavyweight but was routed by Dmitry Bivol in his first loss since he faced Floyd Mayweather in 2013. He returned in September to defeat his rival, Gennaidy Golovkin, in a trilogy fight.

Alvarez is ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer and has captured titles in four weight classes.

Last month, Alvarez was No. 5 on Forbes’ Highest-Paid Athletes list at estimated earnings of $110 million in 2022.

Jermall Charlo was one of two finalists for the Alvarez bout when Canelo ultimately selected Bivol last May. He could land his shot next May if Alvarez defeats his brother.

Jermell Charlo, a 33-year-old who fights out of the Houston area, captured the undisputed 154-pound championship last May when he knocked out Brian Castano in the 10th round of a rematch. The two fighters had previously battled to a highly controversial draw in July 2021 after Castano appeared to do enough to earn the decision.

The only defeat of Jermell’s career came in December 2018, a disputed decision loss to Tony Harrison. Jermell (35-1-1, 19 KOs) also avenged that blemish on his record, scoring an 11th-round knockout of Harrson one year later.

Jermell was set to defend his four titles against Tim Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, in January before he suffered a broken left hand.

Canelo Alvarez Planning His Second Fight of 2023, Jermall Charlo & Badou Jack on Short List

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Canelo Alvarez is planning his second fight of the year…

The 32-year-old Mexican boxer, the sport’s top star, is looking to fight one of two contenders later this year, according to ESPN sources: Jermall Charlo and Badou Jack.

Canelo AlvarezAlvarez, the undisputed super middleweight champion, and his trainer/manager, Eddy Reynoso, met with PBC founder Al Haymon last week in the Cleveland area, where a fall fight with WBC middleweight titleholder Charlo was discussed, sources said.

Charlo, 33, hasn’t competed since June 2021, when he scored a unanimous decision win over Juan Macias Montiel. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman said last month that Charlo’s inactivity is due to mental health.

Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) is a former 154-pound titleholder who has never competed above 160 pounds. His twin brother, Jermell Charlo, is the undisputed junior middleweight champion. Both Charlos are advised by Haymon.

Alvarez’s last three bouts were promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, while his victory over Caleb Plant in November 2021 was a Showtime PPV presented by PBC.

PBC didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.

Another option for Alvarez is Jack, the WBC cruiserweight titleholder. Jack’s longtime manager, Amer Abdallah, is the Head of Boxing for Saudi Arabia-based Skill Challenge Entertainment, a boxing promotion led by Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz.

Abdallah told ESPN on Monday that “the big items are agreed upon, which is an approximate date” and “the financials” for a proposed fight for Jack’s 200-pound title in October in Saudi Arabia. Alvarez has expressed a desire to fight in Saudi Arabia and was ringside for Andy Ruiz’s rematch with Anthony Joshua in the nation’s capital, Riyadh, in December 2019.

Abdallah conceded the weight is an issue. Alvarez holds all four titles at 168 pounds and has twice competed for a light heavyweight title, but has never weighed more than 174.5 pounds — his weight when he scored a highlight-reel KO of Sergey Kovalev in November 2019.

Jack (28-3-3, 17 KOs) is a practicing Muslim whose last four fights took place in the Middle East. His most recent two fights were in Saudi Arabia, including his February victory over Ilunga Makabu to capture the WBC cruiserweight title.

The cruiserweight division limit is 200 pounds. Jack, a 39-year-old former super middleweight titleholder and light heavyweight contender, weighed 198.75 pounds for his last bout and hasn’t tipped the scales under 198.5 pounds since June 2021.

“It’s now just getting it over the finish line with the weight,” Abdallah said. “And mind you, that’s not a small hurdle, but it’s one we’re going back and forth on. So far, this has been the only situation and the only term that we’ve not fully agreed on. … But I’m hoping that if you fight for [a] cruiserweight [title], you’ve got to at least fight around the cruiserweight division [200 pounds] and not at light heavyweight [175 pounds].”

Alvarez outpointed John Ryder last month to retain his undisputed super middleweight championship in a Mexico homecoming. Alvarez (59-2-2, 39 KOs) was fighting for the first time since he underwent left wrist surgery in October and did so before 50,000-plus fans in Guadalajara.

In the lead-up to the bout and afterward, Alvarez said he was focused on a rematch with Russia’s Dmitry Bivol in September. Alvarez was soundly defeated by Bivol in May 2022, his first loss since his 2013 fight with Floyd Mayweather.

The Bivol fight — for which Jermall Charlo was one of two finalists to face Alvarez — was Alvarez’s second 175-pound bout. He returned to defeat Gennadiy Golovkin in September 2022 on Mexican Independence Day Weekend, one of two annual dates Alvarez routinely reserves (the other is Cinco de Mayo Weekend).

Bivol told ESPN on Friday that the rematch with Alvarez is not happening in September, saying, “If you want to fight only me, just connect with our team and ask us about the fight.” Instead, Bivol said he would stay busy with a fall fight and target Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed light heavyweight championship.

Leading up to the Ryder fight, Alvarez insisted on a rematch with Bivol taking place at 175 pounds, while Bivol said he was only interested in a return bout at 168 pounds for Alvarez’s four titles.

“Canelo wants the rematch on all the same terms as the fight he lost,” Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, told ESPN on Friday. “Usually when a fighter really wants a rematch to happen, he doesn’t ask for all the same terms. If Canelo really wanted to avenge his loss as desperately as he portrays to the press, he would have been fighting GGG and Ryder first.

“And they would not be talking to the reps of Charlo, [David] Benavidez, [Edgar] Berlanga, etc. He is obviously avoiding Bivol and they know it would be tough for them to beat him.”

Benavidez, ESPN’s No. 2 super middleweight after Alvarez, has been calling for his shot at Alvarez in September. His promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, said Benavidez is moving on after he never received a response to an offer he made to Reynoso.

“We had a friendly meeting [after] which I promised to send a proposal,” Lewkowicz told ESPN on Monday. “And then [Reynoso] insults me by claiming he never received a proposal. I sent it by email, by text message and by WhatsApp. There’s no way he didn’t receive it. … The only thing he’s looking for is the legacy of Canelo so that he can retire in two or three fights without losing. This is boxing, nothing is written in stone. He can lose to somebody less than Benavidez.”

The package Alvarez was offered could have exceeded $60 million, per sources, when accounting for his international TV rights and upside of the gate and pay-per-view for the Benavidez fight, the matchup most highly anticipated by fans.

Forbes last month ranked Alvarez at No. 5 on its highest-paid athletes list, with $110 million in estimated earnings in 2022.

Yordenis Ugas to Fight Errol Spence Jr in Welterweight Title Unification Fight

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Yordenis Ugas is ready for a unification bout…

will receive his shot at Errol Spence Jr. after all.

Yordenis Ugas,The 35-year-old Cuban professional boxer and reigning WBA welterweight champion will fight Errol Spence Jr. for a welterweight title unification fight that will take place in March or April on pay-per-view at a location to be determined, according to ESPN.

Ugas (27-4, 12 KOs) had previously protested when the WBA mandated that he next defend his welterweight title against Eimantas Stanionis, but the latter boxer has agreed to step aside, WBA president Gilberto Mendoza told ESPN on Sunday, paving the way for Ugas to fight Spence.

Spence and Ugas, who are both aligned with Al Haymon‘s PBC, are in the process of finalizing a deal

Spence’s WBC and IBF titles will be on the line, while Ugas will put up his WBA belt at 147 pounds. The other division title, the WBO strap, is held by Terence Crawford.

“Thanks to the WBA for doing the right thing,” Ugas tweeted. “It is an award for my dedication, and for being a brave man in and out of the ring. I will be fighting one of the best [pound-for-pound]. I’m a warrior. First Cuban fighting [for] three belts [in] one night. Thanks [to] all the fans who asked for this fight.”

Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) was slated to fight Manny Pacquiao in August but withdrew after he suffered a detached retina in training. Ugas stepped in on 11 days’ notice and scored the upset of the future Hall of Famer, sending Pacquiao into retirement with a loss.

Ugas was in talks to fight Spence before Pacquiao accepted the assignment, and he hoped to reschedule the bout after the biggest win of his career (Spence was cleared to resume training on Nov. 1.) But the WBA planned to stick to its four-man box-off in an attempt to create only one champion at 147 pounds.

In one of those bouts, Butaev (14-0, 11 KOs) scored a ninth-round stoppage of Jamal James in October. Ugas and Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs) were meant to fight each other in the other bout. Now, Butaev, a 28-year-old Russian, will meet Stanionis for the right to face the winner of Spence-Ugas after the WBA “agreed to modify the tournament from its original decision,” Mendoza said.

“Eimantas is looking forward to beating Butaev on the Spence vs. Ugas card and then fight the winner,” Schaefer said. “He is ready for anyone in the welterweight division.”

Stanionis, a 27-year-old Lithuanian, fought Luis Collazo in August, but the bout resulted in a no decision after a clash of heads resulted in a deep cut for Collazo.

Meanwhile, Spence, one of the biggest attractions in boxing, prepares for yet another comeback without a tuneup bout. The 31-year-old from DeSoto, Texas, was hospitalized with serious injuries in a single-car accident in October 2019.

He returned in December 2020 with a victory over Danny Garcia but hasn’t competed since.

Canelo Alvarez Nearing Deal to Fight Caleb Plant to Crown Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion

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Canelo Alvarez is closing in on the biggest fight of his career…

The 31-year-old Mexican boxer is nearing a deal with Caleb Plant for a November fight that would crown an undisputed super middleweight champion, according to ESPN.

Canelo Alvarez

A fight between Alvarez and Plant was agreed to last month for September 18, sources said, and officials were simply awaiting signatures when the deal fell apart at the 11th hour.

After talks collapsed, Alvarez (56-1-2, 38 KOs) turned his attention to a 175-pound title fight with Dmitry Bivol. When that matchup couldn’t be finalized in time to stage the fight on Mexican Independence Day Weekend (Sept. 18), Canelo decided to delay his return until November.

Now boxing’s top star is deep in talks with PBC for a one-fight deal that would feature him on Fox PPV, sources said.

The prospect of a fight between Alvarez, ESPN‘s No. 1 pound-for-pound-boxer, and Plant, an undefeated 168-pound titleholder, was dead just two weeks ago. With Alvarez and PBC’s Al Haymon locked in a stalemate, Alvarez moved on to talks with Bivol. When the Mexican star decided to forgo Sept. 18 and instead fight in November, the possibility of Plant returned to the table.

It’s the fight Canelo wanted all along. After Alvarez stopped Billy Joe Saunders in Round 9 of their May fight, picking up his third 168-pound belt, he issued a message to Plant: “I’m coming, my friend.”

Becoming undisputed champion has long been Canelo’s goal, a feat he hasn’t accomplished despite a Hall of Fame résumé that includes titles in four weight classes. Alvarez was set to earn upward of $40 million guaranteed — a career best — in the proposed deal for Sept. 18.

Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) was slated to make $10 million-plus, also a career high. The original pact disintegrated, Plant told ESPN last month, over last-minute “ridiculous requests” from Team Alvarez.

“One that is absurd: If I get injured or sick, then he gets a late replacement for the same amount of guaranteed money, but if he gets sick or injured, then we gotta wait for him,” Plant, ESPN’s No. 3 super middleweight, said after the deal fell apart. “… His bark is bigger than his bite.

“We’ve been waiting for him to get done with his wedding, shooting his TV show, his golf tournament and now have tried to give him everything he wants and more to make this fight,” the Nashville native added. “I’m more than willing, able and ready to fight Canelo Alvarez on any date.”

Those issues could be ironed out now, it appears. This is the third consecutive year Alvarez won’t fight on the coveted September date, a holiday he starred on against bitter rival Gennadiy Golovkin in 2017 and ’18. Another drawn-out negotiation in 2019 forced Alvarez to instead fight in November, a KO victory over Sergey Kovalev.

If he can strike a deal with PBC, it will mark Alvarez’s return to pay-per-view, a platform he has headlined nine times since his fight with Shane Mosley in 2012. Those bouts included a megafight with Floyd Mayweather in 2013 and a pair of matchups with GGG.

Alvarez signed a landmark 11-fight, $365 million deal with DAZN after the GGG rematch, but following four fights, he sued his then-promoter, Golden Boy, along with the streaming platform. After the lawsuit was settled, Alvarez remained with DAZN for a December 2020 win over Callum Smith, then linked up with Matchroom‘s Eddie Hearn on a two-fight deal. The contract for that partnership expired after the Saunders win, opening the door for Alvarez to seek a one-fight deal with Haymon’s team and a chance at undisputed status.

Canelo and Plant were training to fight each other when talks came to an abrupt halt — Alvarez at his San Diego gym and Plant in Las Vegas. This time, the hard work in the gym might lead to what they both want: a showdown for super middleweight supremacy.