Canelo Looks To Move Up Two Weight Divisions

Canelo Alvarez won’t be fighting Caleb Plant this September if his plans to face Gennadiy Golovkin in a trilogy fight fall through, it seems he is interested in another division to conquer.

Alvarez, who had a goal of unifying the middleweight division in 2019, seems to be abandoning that plan, as Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix is reporting that Alvarez wants to move up to light heavyweight and fight WBO champion Sergey Kovalev on September 14th.

Significant momentum for Canelo Alvarez to move up to 175-pounds to face light heavyweight titleholder @KrusherKovalev in September, multiple sources familiar with the situation tell @SInow. No offer at this point, but Canelo has been zeroed in on that fight.

— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) June 27, 2019

This would mark the first time that Alvarez would fight over 165 pounds, fighting at the super middleweight limit in December with a knockout of Rocky Fielding inside Madison Square Garden.

GGG Trilogy In Jeopardy, Smith Could Face Canelo

While many, including DAZN chairman John Skipper would like to see or are angling for a Canelo-GGG III, Callum Smith has been in the mix for a fight at super middleweight in 2020, and Canelo’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya listed Kovalev as a possibility in the last few weeks in the aftermath of Alvarez’ unanimous decision win over Daniel Jacobs.

Kovalev-Yarde Finally Near Deal For Russia

The issue regarding Kovalev is the on-again/off-again negotiations he has had with challenger Anthony Yarde, who at last check, were negotiating for a fight this August in Russia, as private financial backers have confirmed to Main Event promoter Kathy Duva that they have the funds needed for the fight.

With the WBC middleweight title now in the hands of Jermall Charlo, the WBC’s “franchise” champion at 160 pounds seems more interested in walking away from the division.