Soccer
  • Home
  • Boxing
  • 'I Didn'T Even Know About That,' Says Canelo In Response To Cruiserweight Proposal

'I didn't even know about that,' says Canelo in response to cruiserweight proposal

'Like I always say, if Eddy says something or he tries to do something crazy, I'm always in. I'm his warrior.'

Canelo Alvarez has revealed he will make a decision on his next fight in January after being blindsided by talk of a cruiserweight world title clash with Ilunga Makabu.

The Mexican star, who unified the super middleweight division last month with an 11th-round knockout of the previously unbeaten Caleb Plant, has his eye on "the best fights".

But the 31-year-old admitted that not even he saw a match-up with powerful southpaw Makubu on the horizon.

Soon after Plant had been brushed aside, Canelo's longtime trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso approached the WBC to allow his man to fight for a title in the cruiserweight division.

Reynoso specifically requested a fight with the Congolese Makabu, who holds the WBC's cruiserweight title and has nine straight wins since losing to Tony Bellew in 2016.

Makubu's record of 25 knockouts from 28 fights shows the power he possesses. But he did get badly knocked out by Bellew, who climbed off the canvas to batter Makubu and finish the 34-year-old in the third round at Goodison Park five years ago.

Makubu (28-2) immediately welcomed the potential Canelo match-up and told FightHub TV he would impose his size advantage and "knock out" Canelo.

However, he is scheduled to face Thabiso Mchunu on January 29 at the Packard Music Hall in Ohio. That world cruiserweight clash will be a rematch of their 2015 fight, which Makabu won by 11th-round technical knockout.

And Canelo has put the breaks on the talk anyway, and said Reynoso caught him by surprise.

"I didn't even know about that," Alvarez told World Boxing News. "I heard about it on social media what Eddy did.

"Like I always say, if Eddy says something or he tries to do something crazy, I'm always in. I'm his warrior.
"He called me after [the announcement], and I said, 'OK, whatever you want. I never thought (about cruiserweight). Eddy is always thinking about things, but I never thought about it."
Canelo does hold world titles at 154, 160, 168, and 175 pounds and he would no doubt love to add the 190-pound WBC title to that list.

Canelo 'looking for history'

"No, it's not done yet," added Canelo.
"We want to see, we want to try to do it, but it's not done yet. So we will see in January what is coming for us.
"Sounds good, but as I say, nothing is done yet. So we will see what is the best for us. But it sounds good to me to be a champion in five different weights.
"I don't know yet, and I really don't know. I haven't sat down with Eddy yet to talk about it, but something good is coming.
"I'm always looking for the best, looking for history. So, we'll see what is coming, but I'm sure it's the best fights out there."

Read more: What next for Canelo after making history?

    More Articles