Boxer Canelo Álvarez is looking ahead to what could become a tough few weeks – and making key decisions about his future.
Álvarez has been given several different opportunities for fights later this year, according to press reports.
British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, who represents Matchroom Sport, has told Álvarez that he can have a two-fight arrangement.
This would involve him going up against Dmitry Bivol, who has an 11 knockouts record.
Bivol is a light heavyweight leader who competes in the World Boxing Association.
If Álvarez goes for this arrangement, it’s likely that he would fight Bivol on May 7.
It would then be followed by another match later this year against Gennadiy Golovkin, who is from Kazakhstan.
Golovkin has a 36 knockouts record.
That match would be expected to take place on September 17.
However, Álvarez has also been made another offer from a different promoter.
The offer from PBC would see him pair up against Jermall Charlo, a boxer from the US with a 22 knockouts record.
This, however, would be a single-fight arrangement, and it would cause a variety of other complexities.
Other boxers have been attempting to fight against Charlo for a number of years.
These include David Benavidez, a super middleweight who has been seeking such a match for a long time.
Another option is for Álvarez to take on another world-leading titleholder.
This possibility has been put forward by Eddy Reynoso, who is Álvarez’s manager.
Reynoso has apparently suggested that Álvarez changes weight class to cruiserweight, and attempts to tackle Ilunga Makabu’s crown.
Makabu is the champion of the World Boxing Council, though it is widely expected that Álvarez would beat him.
If he did, it’s likely that Álvarez would skyrocket to the position of holding yet another division world title.
However, the downside for Álvarez would be that Makabu is barely known within the boxing world.
This could end up meaning that fans and pundits alike are less invested in the result.
It remains to be seen which option Álvarez is likely to go for, and the boxing community may not know for a while yet.
However, there has been some speculation from pundits that Álvarez might go for the option put forward by Matchroom Sport and Eddie Hearn.
This is because the two are close away from the boxing ring and have a personal friendship.
However, if Álvarez decides that he wants to focus entirely on what matters for his career, he may well come to a different view.
There’s some speculation that Álvarez might go for a move that allows him to take some more chances.
In recent years, he has focused almost entirely on fights that he knew he was likely to win.
This has helped him to build out his victory statistics.
However, it has not led to a situation in which he can pull off big moves – and this moment of choice might allow him to finally do just that.