Canelo Alvarez’s next fight – against whomever he faces – might be for the now-vacant WBC super middleweight title.
The title became vacant when then-beltholder David Benavidez failed to make weight for his defense against Roamer Alexis Angulo on Saturday in Uncasville, Conn. Angulo would’ve claimed the title with a victory over Benavidez but lost by 10th-round KO.
Alvarez is one of a number of fighters who have thrown their hats in the WBC ring to get a shot at the vacant title, according to The Athletic. The WBC Board of Governors is scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss the situation.
Among others who reached out to the sanctioning body: Benavidez (yes, Benavidez), WBA titleholder Callum Smith, Avni Yildirim (No. 1 WBC) and Azizbek Abdugofurov (No. 2 WBC).
Alvarez holds the worthless WBA “regular” title after stopping fringe contender Rocky Fielding in December 2018. The Mexican star is also the WBC’s “franchise” middleweight titleholder.
Of course, the WBC would love to have Alvarez fight for its title because of his popularity. However, Yildirim and Abdugofurov obviously have legitimate credentials because of their rankings.
Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) has yet to announce an opponent for his next fight, which was scheduled for Sept. 12 but almost certainly will be pushed back to later in the year.
Yildirm (21-2, 12 KOs) and Abdugofurov (13-0, 5 KOs) evidently have never been on Alvarez’s radar but a fight between Alvarez and one of them for the vacant title makes sense.
Yildirim is coming off a technical-decision 10th-round loss to Anthony Dirrell for the vacant WBC title in February 2019, after which Benavidez stopped Dirrell to win the belt. Yildirim was expected to face the winner of the Benavidez-Angulo fight for the title, which presumably means he’s first in line.
Abdugofurov is one of a growing number of capable fighters from Uzbekistan.
Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) has been among prospective opponents Alvarez is considering.
[lawrence-related id=12923,12869]