Eddie Hearn is waiting to find out whether Canelo Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) will be facing 168-lb champions, Billy Joe Saunders or Callum Smith.
Golden Boy Promotions need to let Matchroom know which of their fighters they’ll be matching Canelo Alvarez up against for his next fight, and thus Hearn is in the dark.
Hearn says he’ll give it one more week waiting on Golden Boy before he moves on, and matches Saunders and Callum up against each other. He’s already been waiting ages for Golden Boy to decide, and it seems like it’s unlikely that Canelo will be facing Smith or Billy Joe.
Canelo Could Surprise DAZN
If Canelo were to agree to a fight against Callum Smith or David Benavidez, DAZN would likely be over the moon with joy. That would be a good way for Canelo to end the year to get some momentum for 2021.It’s got to be tough for Hearn to be sitting and waiting on Golden Boy and Canelo to decide which direction they want to go in, but there’s not much he can do. Canelo is by far the most famous fighter at 168, and the money would be excellent even during the pandemic if he picks Saunders or Smith.
This has been one of the oddest times for Canelo in terms of who he’ll be facing next. Initially, Canelo was supposed to meeting WBO champion Saunders, but that fight fell through due to a combination of the pandemic, money, and not enough time for training.Golden Boy has since mentioned several different fighters for the Mexican star, but none of them have been selected.If Golden Boy elects not to match Canelo against one of those to fighters, then Hearn plans on putting WBO champion Sanders (29-0, 14 KOs) and WBA champ Callum together in unification.
“We’re waiting on Golden Boy. I’ve said I think we give it until the end of this week. If not, I think they should fight each other.
“Yes [this year]. It’s an obvious unification fight and it’s a really, really good fight,” said Hearn to IFL TV.
With all the time that Saunders and Callum have wasted in sitting and hoping to get a fight against Canelo Alvarez, they could have already fought each other TWICE in 2020.Is It Time For Hearn To Move On?
It might be better for the two British 168-pound champions to cut their losses and chalk it up as a lesson-learned and move on. There’s a lot of interest in the UK in a unification match between Billy Joe and Callum, and at least these guys will have something to show for the year if they schedule a fight now.Canelo is posting videos of his workouts on social media, so he’s training for someone.The fact that he’s already been given the green like by the World Boxing Council to face Avni Yildirim for the vacant WBC super-middleweight title suggests that he’s not looking for a serious fight. That’s another gimme-type opponent for Canelo, and DAZN must be unhappy with the way things are going with him.