Canelo Alvarez is expected to make his annual fight around Mexican Independence Day in September, and it appears his opponent is beginning to take shape.
According to ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez, an Alvarez vs Chris Eubank Jr. fight is reportedly now being negotiated, and the latter has been identified as the ‘frontrunner’ to face the Mexican icon on the coveted September date.
Alvarez, 33, is coming off a one-sided victory via unanimous decision over Jaime Munguia in May. A fight with Eubank Jr. would likely be for Alvarez’s undisputed super middleweight titles.
Eubank Jr. is 34, and his last fight was a 10th-round TKO victory over Liam Smith in September 2023. Eubank Jr. gained revenge with the win after he suffered his first stoppage loss against Smith in January 2023. He would come into the fight with Alvarez with a 33-3 record with 24 KOs to his record.
Eubank Jr. is a second-generation star, the son of a UK boxing legend and former world champion, Chris Eubank Sr. Eubank Jr. has held interim titles at middleweight, and he once challenged for the WBA title at 168 pounds but lost a unanimous decision to George Groves in February 2018.
If the two sides can reach an agreement, it would represent the biggest opportunity Eubank Jr. has had as a professional and most likely the largest payday. He was trained by Brian McIntyre, aka Bo-Mac, for the rematch with Smith, and he looked like a different fighter. It would be interesting to see if Eubank Jr. would retain McIntyre’s services for the biggest fight of his career.
If so, McIntyre–already considered one of the premier trainers in the sport–would have an opportunity to add a significant notch to his belt by guiding Eubank Jr. to a massive upset. Because of Eubank Jr’s notoriety in the UK, the fight has the potential to be commercially successful in three countries (Mexico, the United States, and the United Kingdom).
However, Alvarez is still likely to be criticized for again failing to make a fight with David Benavidez. The undefeated Arizona native had been chasing a fight with Alvarez, but the latter hasn’t shown much interest in fighting him.
Alvarez appears to recognize the danger Benavidez poses to him, and at this stage of the former’s career, he has talked about taking the fights that make the most sense for him with a concentration on risk-reward.
After Benavidez’s unanimous decision win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June, on the Gervonta Davis-Frank Martin card, the former expressed a desire to move on from chasing a fight with Alvarez.
Ironically, Alvarez appears to have adopted the approach of one of his earliest rivals, Floyd Mayweather Jr., the first and one of only two men to hand the Mexican legend a loss. As it is, there are worse fights for Alvarez if the bout with Eubank Jr. becomes official.
Grouped with Noche UFC and the Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel DuBois title fight, September is shaping to be an exciting month for combat sports.
