A new name has been added to the shortlist of potential opponents for Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s next bout and this one has come out of left field.
ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez has reported that Chris Eubank Jr 33-3 (24) is in the mix to challenge undisputed super middleweight champion Alvarez 61-2-2 (39) on the Mexican Independence Day weekend in September.
“The British Chris Eubank Jr joined the list of possible rivals for Canelo and is now the favourite to close an agreement,” Rodriguez posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
“He was a world middleweight champion and has a record of 33-3 with 24 KOs. He has just knocked out Liam Smith, a former victim of the Jalisco, in revenge.”
The news will come as music to the ears of Eubank Jr, who has long coveted at shot at the 33-year-old Mexican superstar’s Ring Magazine, WBC, WBA, WBO an IBF titles.
After avenging his loss to Liam Smith 33-4-1 (20) in their rematch in September, Eubank Jr spoke of his desire to face Alvarez.
“Canelo goes where the money is and I can’t think of any bigger money fights than me versus Canelo. I know he wants to fight in the UK. It’s a huge market,” Eubank Jr told Sky Sports.
“There’s not many guys there that people would like to see fight more than me and Canelo Alvarez.
“It’s hard to target him. You can’t target Canelo Alvarez, whenever he wants to come and fight, he’ll fight. He’ll look at the options and do what he wants.
“He does make the rules. He does what he wants. He moves up in weight. He comes down in weight. He holds belts in different divisions and he does all the things that other fighters could just never do.”
British boxers haven’t had much luck against Alvarez. Liam Smith, Amir Khan, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and John Ryder have all come up short in their challenges.
But Eubank Jr says he will come with a different mindset.
“They call him the Brit slayer and people know I’m not going to go down without a fight I’m not going to get in there and freeze up,” Eubank Jr said.
“I’m going to go out there and take it to him. That’s what people want to see and that’s the fights he needs to be in. Whether he’ll accept a fight like that is to be seen.”
Last month Alvarez was ordered by the IBF to enter negotiations with their number one contender William Scull 22-0 (9) for a fight. With the 32-year-old Germany-based Cuban largely unknown to fight fans, it is believed that a step-aside was being offered to allow Alvarez to face a better known – and more lucrative – opponent.
Before today, it was thought that the two remaining names on Alvarez’s shortlist were former WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo 33-0 (22) of Houston, Texas and Puerto Rican fringe contender Edgar Berlanga 22-0 (17).
Of the pair, Berlanga was believe to be the frontrunner. Eubank Jr has thrown a spanner in the works.
“I know he fought big punchers and everybody, but I feel with me, it’s something different,” said Berlanga to Cigar Talk.
“I’m going to bring something different to the table.”
Now, it seems, he may not get that chance.