Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez set for talks to fight for the WBC super middleweight title

Planet Sport writerStaff Writer19 August 2020
Saunders was close to arranging a fight with Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, pictured, in Las Vegas in May but the coronavirus pandemic scuppered the opportunity (Liam McBurney/PA)

Saunders was close to arranging a fight with Mexican superstar Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, pictured, in Las Vegas in May but the coronavirus pandemic scuppered the opportunity (Liam McBurney/PA)

It's been an underwhelming response...

The WBC has named Avni Yildirim as the opponent for Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in a fight for the organisation's super middleweight title.
Yildirim last entered the ring when he unsuccessfully challenged American Anthony Dirrell for the same belt in February 2019. That was the Turkish fighter's second professional defeat, with the first coming by knockout against British star Chris Eubank Jr.
The 30-year-old fought and lost to the man who would surrender the title to David Benavidez, but before that, he had enjoyed a five-fight winning streak.

Meanwhile, Canelo had to postpone a scheduled fight on 12 September for struggling to find an opponent after Billy Joe Saunders pulled out but is now expected to begin talks with Yildirim's camp soon to finalise a date and the terms of the bout. 

The Mexican is currently considered as Boxing365’s best pound for pound boxer in the world having previously unified the middleweight division and became a four-division world champion after beating Sergiy Kovalev.
His last fight was 160-pounds was in May, 2019, which has prompted Eubank to demand he gets stripped of the title so he can fight for it next.

Food for thought

Former two-time champion Benavidez was stripped of the WBC title belt last week having failed to make weight before extending his unbeaten career to 23 fights. It’s the second time he has been forced to vacate the title having previously failed a drugs test.
That decision has opened the door for Alvarez to solidify his status as a four-weight world champion if he can get one over on 'the Turkish Wolf'.
Alvarez has already won title belts at super-welterweight, middleweight, super-middleweight and light-heavyweight although his win against Rocky Fielding for the WBA regular title at 168-pounds is not viewed as a legitimate world title win.
Saunders has been critical of Alvarez for seeking the title after Benavidez was stripped of it, accusing the Mexican of cherry-picking his fights.
"Didn't see Canelo wanting the WBC when David Benavidez had it a week ago. Cherry picker," Saunders tweeted in response to the news.

The WBC rank Yildirim as the number one contender and is owed a mandatory opportunity, but the decision to make this fight has not enjoyed universal popularity with the boxing fraternity.