Saul Canelo Alvarez is marching towards reunification in 2021

It looks like 2021 will be another extra-ordinary year for Saul Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican super-champion is indeed on fire after his recent victory against Callum Smith and eager to take over the entire super-middleweight boxing division within the current year. If the plan of Canelo Alvarez were confirmed, we would assist to a very likely reunification of belts soon.

Saul Canelo Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) is ready for a new challenge. According to the latest rumors, the number one pound-for-pound will step into the ring next February 27th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami for a mandatory defense against Turkish Avni “Mr Robot” Yildirim (21-2, 12 KOs). Canelo Alvarez comes to this appointment fresh from his victory last December against Callum Smith, which allowed him to conquer the WBA “super” and WBC super-middleweight belts. Avni Yildirm, on the other hand, has not fought since February 23, 2019, since he suffered a defeat at the hands of Anthony Dirrell (33-2-1, 24 KOs) in his first world attempt.

Yildirim this summer had been designated a co-challenger for the WBC super-middleweight title along with Canelo Alvarez. He then decided to step aside to allow the latter to face Callum Smith first. Canelo Alvarez and Reynoso thus decided to honor their commitments and lock horns with the Turkish Avni Yildirim before going after the holders of the other super-middleweight belts. “Obviously this is a very important fight for me”, said Avni Yildirim in a recent interview. “It makes me very proud to be on a stage like this to represent the Turkish people. I know my opponent well. Sure, Canelo is one of the best in the world, but I know my value and now the whole world will see who Avni Yildirim is”.

Eddy Reynoso, coach and manager of Canelo Alvarez, confirmed that the Mexican boxer is already back to the gym waiting for the official announcement of the next fight. Reynoso considers Yildirim as a strong fighter. A fighter who has earned his place in boxing by getting to where he is, to be the number one challenger in the world. Eddie Reynoso stated that Avni Yildirim fought Anthony Dirrell, a fight that the Turkish boxer lost because of a cut. It was a world title challenge, and despite the loss, he became an official challenger. The 30-year-old from Istanbul is a fighter that Reynoso and Canelo Alvarez are familiar with as Yildirim was among the Mexican’s sparring partners in the past in preparation for the boxing fights against Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs).

However, the Canelo Alvarez’s team seems to have much bigger plans for 2021. In fact, once the Yildirim practice is over, the red Mexican boxer will have to prepare himself to face probably the WBO super middleweight champion, Billy “Joe” Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs). Apparently, only a few details are missing to finalize the agreement with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddy Hearn, which foresees a match for May 8th, the weekend following Cinco de Mayo, an annual holiday very much felt in Mexico. Alternatively, as a second option, Canelo Alvarez would choose the undefeated IBF super-middleweight champion, Caleb Plant (20-0, 12 KOs).