Much has been made about middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in recent months: When he will next fight, and whether he will eventually fight Gennadiy Golovkin being the main storylines.
Alvarez hasn’t fought since a unanimous-decision victory over Daniel Jacobs on May 4. His next bout, which was expected to be the weekend of Mexican Independence Day, was postponed. He was recently stripped of his IBF middleweight title for failing to make a deal to face his mandatory challenger, Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
But promoter Oscar De La Hoya, in an interview with Fino Boxing, promised Alvarez would fight again before the end of the year.
“We’re working on his next fight which will be at the end of the year. Unfortunately we couldn’t make Sept. 14 happen, Sept. 16 happen, with Canelo,” De La Hoya said. “But things happen for a reason and I’m looking forward to making Canelo’s next fight by the end of the year. We have many options available to us now. DAZN has given us a green light and going after several opponents out there. But yeah, we’re excited to be promoting Canelo for the next many years to come. We’re thrilled that we can once again showcase the face of boxing by (year’s end).
“We’ll have an announcement soon. But Canelo is fighting before this year ends. We’re always really excited to be putting together the best fights, the best fighters. We’ll finish the year with a big bang with Canelo."
De La Hoya also said on Tuesday that he feels confident in a third match between Alvarez and Golovkin, though he offered fewer concrete details on when that might take place.
"I strongly feel that we will see a third fight,” De La Hoya said (via ESPN). “I strongly feel that being the warrior that Canelo is, and obviously 'GGG' being willing to fight Canelo, again I think the demand is there from the fans. I don't know how soon we'll see it, but I think eventually we will."
Alvarez and Golovkin first fought on Sept. 16, 2017 in a controversial split draw. That led to the organization of a rematch, in which Alvarez scored a majority-decision victory — again, not without controversy.
It seems only fitting these two fighters conclude their business by completing their trilogy of fights. When that may take place, however, remains to be seen.