Mexican unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez is set to fight this Saturday on September 14th, but seems to have already picked a potential course for his career following his bout with Edgar Berlanga. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Conor McGregor has been dangled as a future opponent for Alvarez in lieu of it being an “easy money” fight, and judging by Alvarez’ words, the fight may actually come to fruition as soon as next year.
Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KO’s) and UFC superstar Conor McGregor have traded words on social media in the past, but actual talks have never actually occurred as Alvarez would admit during an interview with boxing reporter Manouk Akopyan.
“Yeah why not [fight Conor Mcgregor next year], and then we show boxing is better,” Alvarez stated during the interview. “[The Mcgregor fight is] very easy money, but we never [talked] about it. How [soon would I knock him out]? At any time I want. [The first] round, [second] round, [third] round, [however] I want.“
Notably, Alvarez was unwilling to clarify how much it would take to face more seasoned boxers such as Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KO’s) or David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO’s), but alluded it would take around the $150-200 million mark that he had referenced before.
“You already know,” Canelo Alvarez said. “I already told you, so right now I’m focused 100% on my fight on Saturday, and you know the answer.“
Canelo Alvarez would later state in the same interview that Crawford and Benavidez were no match against him.
“What we [saw] in the last fight with him [Crawford], I think that’s why there are weight classes. That’s why it [would be] an easy fight for me,” Alvarez asserted. “You know, he’s [Crawford] moving a lot, and he’s going to complicate the [fight] a couple of rounds, but then I’ll figure him out―and that’s what I think.
“[I would beat David Benavidez] with my skills, my talent, and I’m a strong fighter. I have a lot of experience in this sport.“
The reference made towards Crawford’s last fight centered around the underestimation of his opponent, former WBA super welterweight (154 lbs) champion Israil Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KO’s) who Crawford defeated by unanimous decision in match that was closer than expected.
However, despite Alvarez’ assertions of Benavidez and Crawford being beatable, his demands of needing $150-200 million to fight appears to validate his suspected pursuit of easier fights, with the likes of Conor McGregor and Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KO’s)―who he will be facing next―posing much less of a threat than either Crawford or Benavidez.
While both fighters are not currently competing at super middleweight (168 lbs) where Canelo Alvarez holds the WBA, WBC and WBO titles, the two have been heavily linked with the Mexican champion for the past year.
However, Alvarez will still need to be wary of Berlanga who he will face tomorrow [September 14], and seek to retain his focus on his upcoming opponent lest the possibility of him fighting easy combatants such as Conor McGregor is no longer deemed feasible.
