Canelo Alvarez must announce who he will fight on May 4th in Las Vegas as soon as possible while big names like Jaime Munguia, David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo, Dmitry Bivol, and Terence Crawford top the long list of contenders who he can choose from.

Canelo will not face Munguia, Benavidez or Bivol

Jaime Munguia knocked out Canelo’s last opponent John Ryder and is waiting for his title shot, while David Benavidez also had a solid performance when he knocked out Demetrius Andrade, back in November.

However, it seems Canelo will keep his word of not fighting another Mexican, and, according to ESPN Mexico boxing insider Salvador Rodriguez, he has already chosen two big names in the American card for his May and September fights.

The chosen ones would be Jermall Charlo, Jermell’s twin whom Canelo easily defeated in September, and Terence Crawford, who is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world after a spectacular knockout of Errol Spence to become the undisputed welterweight champion and the first to be undisputed in two different divisions; if he fights Canelo, he would be looking for a third undisputed title of his career.

The source indicates that Canelo would face Charlo in May and Crawford in September, anticipating a great fight, with the caveat that the Mexican would force both challengers to move up in division to face him on unequal terms. With both fights, Canelo would conclude his three-fight contract with PBC.

Jermall Charlo (31-0, 22 KO’s) is coming off a unanimous decision win over Jose Benavidez. He is the current WBC middleweight champion, so he would only have to move up one division. However, what is shaping up to be a fight split opinion is against Crawford, who holds an undefeated record of 40 wins with 31 knockouts.

Meanwhile, Benavidez, Munguía and even Dmitry Bivol himself will be left waiting for a chance, even though many boxing fans criticized Canelo for “avoiding giving a chance to these two Mexican-blooded contenders, in what would also be a difficult fight.

At the same time, Bivol, who gave a lecture against the Mexican champion in September 2022, is focused on a unification fight in the light heavyweight fight, against Artur Beterbiyev, after failing to reach an agreement with Canelo.

It may have been a brief sojourn. However, until Naoya Inoue joined him, Canelo Alvarez lorded over the exclusive, undisputed club as the year 2023 neared its conclusion. Initially, Terence Crawford and Jermell Charlo did give him company, but the journey didn’t last too long.

But it doesn’t mean the throne he ascended two years ago would remain unchallenged. The super middleweight champion defended his undisputed title twice last year. Quite likely, he might emulate the accomplishment in the new year as well. For all the reports available, he might enter the ring first in May and perhaps later in September. However, the burning question in everyone’s mind revolves around the formidable opponents he is destined to face. It doesn’t seem to have received an official endorsement. Nevertheless, as it appears, a name has apparently jumped ahead of others in the race to face Canelo Alvarez during the Cinco de Mayo weekend.

‘The Future of Boxing’ with Canelo Alvarez

In a morning post, Boxing Kingdom tweeted information received through other sources. It indicates that in May, Canelo Alvarez might square up against Jermall Charlo. The channel said, “Canelo will fight Jermall Charlo in May, according to reports.” Miami-based freelance writer and editor Bernardo Pilatti, through his channel ‘Bernardo Pilatti Official’, seems to have a similar update.

The eight-minute-long footage is titled, “100% Confirmado! Jermall Charlo será el rival de Canelo Alvarez en mayo.” It roughly translated to – 100% Confirmed! Jermall Charlo will be Canelo Alvarez’s rival in May. However, it should be noted that the video is entirely in Spanish; therefore, the English translation of the transcript cannot be fully verified or substantiated per se. Hence, it is left for viewers to exercise better discretion

Early in December, fans might remember reports from ESPN’s Latin American version, ESPN Knockout, that Canelo Alvarez would finally face long-time caller David Benavidez in September. However, for May, three names appeared: Jaime Munguia, Terence Crawford, and Jermall Charlo.

As it stands, Munguia will be facing John Ryder, whom Alvarez defeated last year, next week in Arizona. As far as Crawford is concerned, as exciting and intriguing as it sounds, doubts remain over the welterweight champion climbing three divisions up to meet the Mexican champion. Thus, it leaves Jermall Charlo.

The ‘Hitman’s name interestingly came up first as Canelo Alvarez prepped himself for the September 30 title defense. However, it was the middleweight champion’s twin brother who eventually fought Alvarez at the T-Mobile Arena. Jermall Charlo thus had to wait for another two months before marking his entry after a non-activity of over two years. He fought and defeated Jose Benavidez Jr. on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade undercard on November 25.

Already, there were talks of him avenging his brother’s loss to Canelo Alvarez. Now connecting the dots, a fight between the two appears quite tangible. The Mexican icon had signed up for a $100 million, three-fight deal with Al Haymon‘s PBC. The bout with Jermell Charlo was the first installment of the series. That leaves two more. Hence, fans would undoubtedly expect him to exercise full discretion in terms of the opponents he goes against, both in terms of the payday and the legacy.