{"id":740001,"date":"2026-08-16T17:26:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/740001\/"},"modified":"2026-08-16T17:26:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T17:26:07","slug":"canelo-called-out-by-undefeated-former-champion-moving-up-to-super-middleweight-get-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/740001\/","title":{"rendered":"Canelo called out by undefeated former champion moving up to super-middleweight: &#8220;Get ready&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/boxingnewsonline.net\/boxer\/canelo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Canelo Alvarez<\/a> could be presented with an immediate unification match if he <a href=\"https:\/\/boxingnewsonline.net\/news\/arum-names-the-man-who-will-ko-canelo\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">proves successful against WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/boxing\/story\/_\/id\/46251831\/terence-crawford-tops-canelo-alvarez-historic-undisputed-crown\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">The Mexican has not fought since losing his undisputed crown to Terence Crawford<\/a>, who produced a masterful performance to unanimously outpoint his man last September.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Bud\u2019 then announced his retirement in December, allowing Mbilli to be upgraded from \u2018interim\u2019 to full world champion following his 10-round draw with Lester Martinez.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/boxingnewsonline.net\/news\/canelo-announces-new-date-for-mbilli\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Canelo will therefore have the opportunity to reclaim one of his belts on October 31<\/a>, albeit in a fight where many are favouring the freshness and intensity of his opponent.<\/p>\n<p>If he emerges victorious, though, then the 36-year-old may seek to unify his division against one of the remaining champions.<\/p>\n<p>The obvious choice would be WBO champion <a href=\"https:\/\/boxingnewsonline.net\/boxer\/hamzah-sheeraz-2\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Hamzah Sheeraz<\/a>, given that Canelo has already defeated Jaime Mungua \u2013 who he also currently shares a gym with \u2013 and is unlikely to seek out 168lb dangerman Osleys Iglesias.<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/boxingnewsonline.net\/news\/sheeraz-ordered-to-defend-vs-ex-champion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Sheeraz set to defend his title against mandatory challenger Janibek Alimkhanuly<\/a>, however, it is possible that Alvarez will end up facing the former unified middleweight champion instead.<\/p>\n<p>Taking to social media, Alimkhanuly unsurprisingly expressed his interest in taking on one of the sport\u2019s biggest stars.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCanelo, get ready! Inshalla, I\u2019ll beat [Sheeraz] and we\u2019ll unify the [titles]!\u201d<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Canelo, get ready! Inshalla, I&#8217;ll beat Shiraz and we&#8217;ll unify the title!<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Janibek Alimkhanuly (@qazaqstyle) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/qazaqstyle\/status\/2088325978263359760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\">August 14, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Given that Alimkhanuly tested positive for banned substance meldonium in December, many have lambasted the WBO for offering him a route towards two-division championship status.<\/p>\n<p>Due to his failed doping test, the 33-year-old has also not fought since defeating overmatched challenger Anauel Ngamissengue with a fifth-round stoppage in April 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canelo Alvarez could be presented with an immediate unification match if he proves successful against WBC super-middleweight champion&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":740002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-740001","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\/740001","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=740001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/740001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=740001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=740001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=740001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}