Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez has begun training ahead of his ring return, which will come almost 12 months to the day after he lost his undisputed super-middleweight titles to Terence Crawford.
Alvarez suffered just his third defeat in 68 fights when Crawford moved up in weight and beat him via unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
Though Crawford, 38, retired shortly after, Canelo, 35, will fight on. Fresh off elbow surgery that he says was well overdue, Canelo has booked his return for September 12 in Saudi Arabia on a card titled ‘Mexico Against the World’ that will feature other top names from the fighting nation.
Though the bill is sure to feature some thrilling match-ups, the main event holds the most intrigue as fans look to see what Canelo has left, how the Crawford loss affected him, and if he can become world champion again.
Speaking to Box Azteca, the superstar from Guadalajara said he wished he was fighting sooner, but that plans are moving forward. On his opponent, he confirmed that it would be a world champion, endorsing what boxing powerbroker Turki Alalshikh said when announcing the fight.
“I wish I were just days away from fighting, but well, I had to take care of my body and my injuries, which you tend to put off. Then they just keep piling up, so, I gave myself that time to address the injuries I had, and it’s worth it.
“Right now, [the opponent is] what we’re looking at, analysing. Richard [Schaefer] with Turki [Alalshikh] last week in London, so we’ll see. There’s a range of rivals there, let’s see who’s the best, but always, choosing the best, and above all, that he’s a champion.
“Honestly, I feel very good. I’ve been training … and I feel extremely good and happy because sometimes that’s what you need.”
Though not set in stone, new WBC champion Christian Mbilli is frontrunner for the opposite corner. Mbilli held on to his interim super-middleweight belt on the Canelo-Crawford undercard via a draw with Lester Martinez and, when Crawford was stripped of the title, he was upgraded to full champion.
If that does not play out, the super-middleweight division will have three other champions soon, pending one fight in May.
Jose Armando Resendiz was upgraded to full WBA champion at the beginning of the year after a win over Caleb Plant. The vacant IBF title was recently won by Cuban puncher Osleys Iglesias, and Hamzah Sheeraz and Alem Begic battle it out for the vacant WBO strap on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven, May 22 in Egypt.
