{"id":603279,"date":"2026-05-25T16:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/603279\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T16:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T16:56:09","slug":"canelo-says-he-will-only-move-up-to-light-heavyweight-again-for-one-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/603279\/","title":{"rendered":"Canelo says he will only move up to light heavyweight again for one man"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Canelo Alvarez has said he would only return to 175lbs for one fight, naming a potential opponent with whom he feels there is unfinished business.<\/p>\n<p>The 35-year-old has not fought since losing his super-middleweight titles to Terence Crawford, who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.co.uk\/boxing\/story\/_\/id\/46224012\/canelo-alvarez-terence-crawford-live-updates-boxing-results-round-round-analysis\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">moved up two weight classes and claimed a unanimous decision victory<\/a> last September.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Bud\u2019 then announced his retirement several months later, enabling Christian Mbilli to be elevated from \u2018interim\u2019 to full WBC champion following his <a href=\"https:\/\/boxingnewsonline.net\/news\/christian-mbilli-retains-wbc-interim-title-with-draw-against-lester-martinez\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">10-round draw with Lester Martinez<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>More significantly, though, the Frenchman has since landed himself a lucrative opportunity against Canelo, who looks to reclaim one of his world titles in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 12.<\/p>\n<p>If he dethrones Mbilli then the Mexican is likely to remain at 168lbs, perhaps with a view to unify the division against either Hamzah Sheeraz or Osleys Iglesias.<\/p>\n<p>He could, however, be tempted by an opportunity at light-heavyweight, especially if it involves a rematch with current unified champion Dmitry Bivol.<\/p>\n<p>The pair squared off in 2022, with Bivol claiming a comprehensive points victory while Canelo, aside from being undersized at the weight, appeared to struggle with the elite technician\u2019s footwork.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Alvarez has told <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/icQg451GlOU?si=GvMgxnFJQHtQvRL1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Ring Magazine<\/a> that he would happily face the 35-year-old in a bid to exact his revenge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf I go to 175[lbs], it\u2019s to fight Bivol. Or maybe he [can] come down [to 168lbs].\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While their rematch could potentially materialise in the next year or so, Bivol must first end a 15-month layoff and defeat mandatory challenger Michael Eifert this Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Bivol is also being targeted by David Benavidez, who currently holds the WBC belt at 175. The undisputed contest may happen in the next twelve months.<\/p>\n<p>Benavidez has also called out Canelo for a long-awaited showdown, though it appears the Mexican\u2019s interest has not changed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canelo Alvarez has said he would only return to 175lbs for one fight, naming a potential opponent with&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-603279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}