There are plenty of possible opponents for the king, none of which are massively popular.
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is coming off a successful 2024 campaign after removing undefeated records from two fighters, former world champion Jaime Munguia and Edgar Berlanga. The Mexican superstar scored a knockdown of each man en route to 12-round unanimous decision victories.
Here, FightsATW takes a look at who could be next for the unified super middleweight champion of the world.
Terence Crawford
Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs) is at that Floyd “Money” Mayweather stage of his career. For the last 12 years, Álvarez has been the standard. He won world titles in four weight classes from 154 to 175 pounds, including unified titles in three divisions and lineal titles in two. Álvarez also became the first undisputed super middleweight champion in boxing history when he knocked out Caleb Plant in November 2021. With that said, Canelo is picking his opponents wisely and going for the big payday with the least amount of risk.
We know that Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) is willing to move up from 154 pounds to 168 pounds to challenge him for his titles. And while Alvarez has been largely dismissive of the idea, he’s been more open to it as of late. If the money is right, this could be the next fight. And who knows, maybe Crawford has a legitimate chance. If there’s any guy who can pull off a miracle, “Bud” has the best shot.
Christian Mbilli
Nearly two months ago, the Cameroonian-French super middleweight Christian Mbilli emerged as the WBC and WBA number one contender to face Canelo. Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs) is a relentless, yet reckless puncher. Canelo-Mbilli would be both fun and destructive, meaning Alvarez would most certainly come away with the win. Prime Canelo would have gotten the knockout, but Alvarez hasn’t scored a knockout in three years. That may change if this fight is finalized.
Caleb Plant Rematch
Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) is fresh off a come-from-behind ninth-round TKO of Trevor McCumby in September. If the former world champion can make a quick turnaround and snag another impressive victory before May of next year, I don’t see why not. He has a large following and an entertaining style. Although he did lose to Benavidez a year ago, I feel like Plant is still improving as a boxer. It’ll be interesting to see if the second fight is any different from the first.
David Benavidez Just Isn’t Part of The Plans
Most of you were probably looking forward to a David Benavidez mention somewhere on this list, but honestly, we just don’t see that as an option for Alvarez in 2025. Benavidez appears to be settling in at 175 pounds, and Canelo seems comfortable with his legacy without his name. He has every right not to take the Benavidez fight at this point in his career. He’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer and the face of boxing.
If Canelo-Benavidez never happens, the latter has the opportunity to make a name for himself and become the face of the sport himself.
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