Canelo Alvarez eyes Billy Joe Saunders in middleweight move

Canelo Alvarez, who has dawdled about committing to a permanent middleweight move, may finally be ready to settle at 160 pounds in 2017. Recently, Canelo was named mandatory challenger to WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders.

Once again, the stars seem to be aligning for Canelo Alvarez. According to ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael, Canelo (48-1-1, 34 KOs), the current WBO 154-pound title-holder, has been elevated by the maligned sanctioning body to number one contender status at middleweight.

In making the move, the WBO has bumped current mandatory challenger Avtandil Khurtsidze who, needless to say, doesn’t have a fraction of the clout Canelo Alvarez wields. As Rafael notes, Khurtsidze’s team has 10 days to launch an appeal against the WBO, but that would surely amount to nothing based on the organization’s rationale:

"The WBO said Alvarez has become “a boxing fan’s idol” and is a “crowd favorite, with more than 52,000 fans present in his recent bout against Liam Smith in Dallas. He is the top pay-per-view fighter on HBO, [and] his presence has given that category a renewed interest in boxing. At this moment, [he] will give boxing the maximum required exposure."

"“In view of the facts presented above, in accordance with the WBO regulations, and weighing the merits to be considered, the championship committee has decided that, in the best interest of boxing, Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez should be the mandatory challenger.”"

That Canelo Alvarez and his team have opted for this course of action suggests a couple of things. First, and most important, he indeed intends to settle at the 160 pound limit — whether that comes against Saunders (24-0, 12 KOs) or in a grotesque 164-pound catchweight bout against the recently returned Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Second, pursuing Saunders is an ideal springboard to facing Gennady Golovkin.

Indeed, Golovkin-Canelo should have happened by now. However, given Golovkin’s clear intentions to claim all four major middleweight belts, a Canelo victory over Saunders, who struggled mightily in his first defense, would make Golovkin-Canelo a unification bout for all the middleweight marbles.

Next: Bernard Hopkins and the fallacy of fulfillment

That said, fans sadly cannot count on Canelo Alvarez stepping up to face Gennady Golovkin. While there’s a lingering sense of inevitability to the match-up, recent history is discouraging and has set a dangerous precedent for Canelo’s longterm behavior as boxing’s most marketable star. So, look at things this way: if Canelo opts for Saunders at 160 pounds, there are reasons for optimism; if Canelo cherry picks Chavez Jr., let the circus continue.