Jermall Charlo, the most probable rival for Canelo

Things have changed around Canelo Álvarez’s circle and he might not be facing Badou Jack next.

The Guadalajara native seemed to be close to a deal to fight the WBC cruiserweight champion in a potential fight that made lots of sense for him, as his opponent offered him the chance of becoming champion in another weight class.

Moreover, going into the ring against Jack, 39, who is well past his prime, looked like more of a ‘tune-up’ test than a challenging bout for Canelo’s plans of fighting Dmitry Bivol or David Benavidez in the future.

However, Jack rejected Canelo’s request to come down from the 200 lbs limit to face each other at 180 lbs with a rehydration clause.

After his unconvincing performance against the massive underdog John Ryder last May, many felt that the Mexican star is on a decline and that a fight against either Bivol or Benavidez would be too risky for his career.

Jack looked like a solid option for Álvarez after Ryder, but things have turned around and Jermall Charlo seems to be his likeliest opponent.

Charlo, an undefeated but inactive fighter

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that Jermall Charlo is the frontrunner for Canelo’s next bout after failing to make a rematch fight with WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol.

“I think the [Jermall] Charlo fight is probably the frontrunner right now. I spoke to Eddy [Reynoso] last week. Obviously, they wanted to fight Dmitry Bivol”, he said to the DAZN Boxing Show.

“We couldn’t get that one over the line just yet, so they’re [Canelo & Reynoso] looking at other options. You saw Badou Jack come out and say, ‘It’s not going to be me this time in September. I don’t think Saudis have a date for them in September either. It’s very fast to move at that pace”, he added.

“(...) So, I think Charlo is the front-runner for September perhaps and we’re looking at other options for him for January and February as well”, Hearn concluded.

The undefeated Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) has been inactive for the last two years, so he might be rusty once he gets into the ring again. If he finally challenges Canelo he would need to come up to 168, as the Guadalajara-bred champion doesn’t want to come down to 160.

Canelo’s team is known to be good professionals, with Eddy Reynoso being considered one of the best trainers in the sport, but they also study all of the possible opponents for Saúl carefully, as Canelo doesn’t want to tarnish his boxing resume with fights that don’t make sense to him.

Although Charlo hasn’t tasted defeat, he’s one year older than Canelo and it seems he doesn’t have that boxing fire anymore in him, while Canelo is a full-time dedicated boxer who’s always in shape and looking for new accomplishments.