Canelo Alvarez will not be fighting on Mexican Independence Day weekend after all.
Golden Boy Promotions announced in a statement that Alvarez will not fight on his planned September 14 bout, which had yet to be officially announced. The issue stems from Alvarez not being able to find an opponent after talks with Gennadiy Golovkin went nowhere and subsequent talks with WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev fell through. Kovalev is set to fight mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde in Russia in August.
"As a Mexican, it's a responsibility and an honor to represent my country in both May and September. Those are my dates. However, as a world champion in multiple weight classes, I also have the responsibility of delivering the most exciting and competitive fights possible. That's why Golden Boy and my team have decided to postpone the date in order to do right by my fans by promoting the best fight possible and with the best opponent possible,” Alvarez said in the statement.
Complications in finding an opponent for Alvarez further continued after the IBF ordered him and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, the mandatory challenger to his middleweight title, to have a purse bid on July 23. Regardless of who his opponent will be, Alvarez’s next bout will be the third since signing an 11-fight deal to compete exclusively on DAZN.
The news also snaps Alvarez’s three-year streak of competing on Mexican Independence Day weekend. In 2016, Alvarez beat Liam Smith in Arlington, Texas to win the WBO junior middleweight title. In 2017 and 2018, the 28-year-old Alvarez fought Golovkin both times in Las Vegas. In their first encounter, the two fought to a split draw while the rematch saw Alvarez narrowly defeat Golovkin by majority decision to capture the WBA and WBC middleweight titles. In Alvarez’s last fight, which also took place in Las Vegas, he defeated Daniel Jacobs to win the IBF belt.
