Shawn Porter suspects Canelo Alvarez‘s next opponent has already been selected by Turki Alalshikh, with the Mexican defending his world title against an unbeaten challenger.
The 36-year-old reclaimed his WBC super-middleweight strap last Saturday, dethroning Christian Mbilli with a convincing unanimous decision victory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Prior to that, he had lost his undisputed crown to Terence Crawford, who moved up two weight classes and produced a truly masterful performance in September 2025.
This time, though, Canelo seemed largely in control against Mbilli, who is known for his relentless aggression but was unable to consistently apply such pressure in his first title defence.
As a result, Alvarez enjoyed a successful third fight on his Riyadh Season deal, having previously outpointed William Scull and lost his four major belts to Crawford.
But with this being a four-fight agreement, he is expected to enter at least one more outing with Alalshikh, who may favour a match between him against former world champion Hamzah Sheeraz.
The 27-year-old vacated his WBO title in September, shortly after his promoter, Frank Warren, won a purse bid for his mandatory defence against Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Yet despite being beltless, former two-time world champion Porter has suggested on his podcast that Sheeraz, as a Riyadh Season ambassador, represents a realistic opponent for Canelo in 2027.
“[Alalshikh] is not gonna allow him to get past Hamzah Sheeraz. [He won’t] allow him to take on any other fight.”
While the Canelo fight could make sense for next year, Sheeraz is expected to have one more assignment with Queensberry Promotions before pursuing opportunities as a free agent.
