CANELO ALVAREZ IS THE POUND FOR POUND KING!

With an entire division now on lock, Alvarez is in a position where anyone

wanting to be a champ doesn’t have the belt options to get there like they
might in another class. For the big names one class below at middleweight,
and one class up at light heavyweight, Alvarez’s return to pay-per-view
(without the mesh of DAZN and pay-per-view of fights before Plant) has raised
the income possibility.

It all leads to the only question that ever really matters when the dust settles
on a big fight: what’s next?

For anyone wanting that spot, auditions are open.

All eyes will be on a critical audition this weekend. 24-year old former WBC
super middleweight titlist David Benavidez (24-0, 21 KO) might be the best
super middleweight Alvarez hasn’t defeated yet. Take away some self-inflicted
wounds and Benavidez could have already had his place in the rotation. He
lost his first WBC strap to a failed cocaine test and second on the scales.

Saturday (Showtime, 9 PM EST), Benavidez will face 27-year old Kyrone

Davis (16-2-1, 9 KO). It is absolutely an audition. There is already buzz about
a possible Alvarez-Benavidez showdown. An impressive showing will only add
to it. The speed, power, and general entertainment value of Benavidez is an
easy sell. Benavidez just has to remind everyone this weekend. 

For Davis, that makes this the chance of a lifetime. He can change the
conversation in his division overnight. It might not make Davis a likely choice
for next, but it would move him up the line with a bullet. A Davis upset could
indirectly help the hopes of a former opponent.

37-year old former titlist Anthony Dirrell (34-2-2, 25 KO) had his audition last
Saturday on the Alvarez undercard and it couldn’t have gone much better.
Dirrell entered off a loss to Benavidez and draw with Davis in his last two
fights. A monster uppercut left Marcos Hernandez senseless and Dirrell made
clear he wants the sort of big fight he’s never quite had. If Alvarez opts to
scale back a hair in his next fight, and were to find Benavidez unavailable,
Dirrell could be a sentimental favorite for some.

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One division down, there are two potential big money fights. Assuming his
unification fight with Ryoto Murata comes off, the only man to have a case for
beating Alvarez since the Erislandy Lara fight could make his case toward the
end of the year. 

Now 39, Gennady Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KO) has fought only three times since
a narrow rematch loss to Alvarez in 2018. Holding the IBF belt again, if
Golovkin can show he’s not gotten old on the bench for the last year, there will
be plenty of fans who want to see them again. Asked about the possibility
before the Plant fight, Alvarez was reported to say, ‘why not?’ 

After two classic battles together so far, it’s a good answer.

Also at middleweight, 31-year old WBC titlist Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22 KO)
wouldn’t need much to remind fans what he brings to the table. Put a fight with
Alvarez in Texas and they put a whole lot of butts in seats. Charlo would also
have value as a pay-per-view opponent. The only thing missing is more
activity, with only one fight so far in 2021 and one in 2020.  

Then of course there are the light heavyweights. Neither WBA titlisy Dmitry
Bivol (18-0, 11 KO) or lineal king and WBC/IBF unified champion Artur
Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KO) have done much to move the needle this year.
Alvarez has fought at light heavyweight before and, now that he’s unified
super middleweight, if one of the champions of that class could catch some
fire again it’s not outside the realm to think Alvarez could go looking for new
challenges. 

There are other names that would love their turn, from Demtrius Andrade to
Joe Smith Jr. Alvarez can only fight them one at a time and he’s never been
held in higher esteem. With seven wins in his last eight fights against men
rated in the TBRB and Ring Magazine top ten, no one else is putting in the
work Alvarez is. He’s earned the right to pick.

It’s up to everyone else to demand that they be chosen. 

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the

Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing
Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of
America.