SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 48: WHO IS NEXT FOR CANELO ALVAREZ?
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 20 Feb 2024
Canelo Alvarez has yet to announce his next opponent. He confirmed that he plans to return to the ring on May 4, a date usually reserved for him on Cinco De Mayo weekend. Canelo did not name his opponent yet, but he did give a hint that his prospective opponent is American and they are in the process of finalizing the details of the fight.
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The next foe will be the 65th opponent for the 33-year-old Alvarez. He has held multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of those weight classes and lineal titles in two.
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Alvarez is the first and only boxer in history to become undisputed champion at super middleweight, having held the WBA (Super), WBC and Ring magazine titles since 2020, and the IBF and WBO titles since 2021.
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The record of Canelo’s last 40 opponents is 1,282 wins and 109 losses, including more than 20 foes who were world champions, 8 undefeated world champions, and with multiple world titles in four weight divisions.
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He unified the super middleweight division to become undisputed champion against world champions who had a combined record of 105 wins and 1 loss.
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As middleweight champion, he knocked out light heavyweight champion KO artist Sergei Kovalev for the light heavyweight world championship. He was named as “The Greatest Mexican Boxer of All-Time" by the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez in a very dramatic passing of the guard.
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The fighters who are probable Canelo opponents are David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo and Terrence Crawford. Benavidez is a two-time WBC super middleweight champion from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020. Claiming his first belt at 20 years, eight months, three weeks and one day old, Benavidez holds the record as the youngest super middleweight title holder in history. He won over Demetrius Andrade by 6th round TKO on November 25, 2023 to retain his WBC interim super middleweight title.
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Jermall Charlo has held world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC middleweight title since 2019 and previously the IBF light middleweight title from 2015 to 2017.
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Crawford has held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including WBO lightweight championship, and undisputed championship at light welterweight and welterweight.
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Gilas Pilipinas is slated to leave on Tuesday morning, February 20, as the national squad now under head coach Tim Cone travel to Hong Kong for the team's opening game of the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers 2025. The national squad will see action on Thursday, February 22, against the host nation at the Tsuen Wan Sports Centre.
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Sports History: February 19, 2000. Erik Morales defeated Marco Antonio Barrera to unify the WBO and WBC super bantamweight belts. Morales was declared winner by split decision, with scores of 115-112, 114-113 and 113-114 and seized the WBO superbantamweight title. This bout was named as Ring Magazine's Fight of the Year for 2000, before being named as the best fight of all time in the same year.
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