Canelo Alvarez only wants Jermall Charlo for May 4 on Cinco de Mayo Weekend, leaving PBC with a decision to make over his future.

Alvarez signed a three-year deal with PBC after leaving DAZN as he fought Jermell Charlo in his first bout. The Mexican won a one-sided unanimous decision as the talk turned towards his next fight. The Undisputed Super Middleweight Champion confirmed his next opponent was an American. Jermall Charlo, Terence Crawford and David Benavidez were named as possibilities.

Charlo backtracked on his comments that he was facing Canelo. Reports said PBC was not willing to pay Canelo a $35 million guarantee for Charlo but only for Jaime Munguia. Canelo also dismissed Crawford as a win would do nothing for his legacy, as a Benavidez bout was not any closer to getting made.

That has left Canelo with a decision to make, given that Charlo is the name he wants. If the Charlo fight does not happen, Canelo could leave PBC to pursue a bout with Edgar Berlanga. The super middleweight is an American and has spoken about his desire to face Canelo.

Canelo’s Ultimatum

“CANELO DOES NOT ACCEPT ANOTHER: Canelo threatened Al Haymon and #PBC; otherwise, Charlo will not fight. This is what Canelo said, and I quote: Well if it’s not Jermall, there’s no fight in May,” reporter Fernando Schwartz stated 

If PBC were to lose Canelo, it would be a disaster for their new deal with Amazon Prime Video. The promotional outfit signed the deal after Showtime departed from the sport. Given that the deal does not include fixed guarantees for fighters, PBC may struggle to hold on to their biggest stars, especially given Canelo can command a huge purse.

That may lead to other fighters, such as Gervonta Davis, doing the same in the hope of a better deal.
Despite this, Canelo’s trainer, Eddie Reynoso, felt that his fighter’s legacy was secure regardless of who he fights. The Mexican is a four-division champion who has been in some of the biggest fights in the sport.

Canelo vs Benavidez

His only losses have come against Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Dmitry Bivol, two of the sport’s best fighters. He has also faced GGG three times, Miguel Cotto and Danny Jacobs, all former world champions. Given that Benavidez is another name on the list, Renoyso felt there was no pressing need to take that fight unless all terms were agreed to their satisfaction.

“The fight with Benavidez may take a while or maybe never happen, but it depends on many things. There were fights that never took place, that of Lennox Lewis with Riddick Bowe, that of Julio César Chávez with Terry Norris, that of Érik Morales with Juan Manuel Márquez, and none of them stopped going to the Hall of Fame for that.  There were others [fights] that, although they took time, ended up being made, like that of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Among the fighters, there is no fear. We just hope that the Renoyso stated