Saul "Canelo" Alvarez has reportedly agreed to a middleweight title defense Feb. 27 against Avni Yildirim at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Mike Coppinger of The Athletic reported details of the championship bout, which will be broadcast on DAZN.
Alvarez is coming off a dominant performance against Callum Smith in December to unify the WBA and WBC super middleweight titles.
The lopsided unanimous decision marked the 30-year-old Mexican superstar's fifth straight victory since a draw with Gennady Golovkin. His only career loss (54-1-2) came against Floyd Mayweather Jr. by majority decision in their hyped September 2013 matchup.
Along with the mandatory WBC middleweight defense against Yildirim, his camp is also in discussions with WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders about a fight during Cinco de Mayo weekend, per Coppinger.
"I've worked hard for this, and it's a great situation to be in," Alvarez told Joseph Santoliquito of The Ring in early January. "It's a pretty simple plan for 2021, fight for all of the belts at 168 and fight three times, maybe four. We'll see."
Fights in February and May would leave enough time for two more bouts during the second half of the year if he wants to remain on an aggressive schedule.
Yildirim is coming off his second career defeat (21-2), losing to Anthony Dirrell in a fight for the vacant WBC super middleweight belt in February. It was a technical decision after Dirrell was cut by a headbutt.
The 29-year-old Turkey native will be a massive underdog in February's meeting with Alvarez. It will be the biggest fight of his career by a considerable margin.
Yildirim discussed the potential of a shot at Alvarez in a December interview with Jack Figg of The Sun:
"I don't care if we fight in Mexico, the U.S., Turkey or on the moon as long as I get my shot at the world title. For me, it is not so much about fighting Canelo. It is about fighting for the WBC world championship belt, the world famous green and gold belt, the biggest prize in boxing.
"I have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time and I am very proud that it will finally happen. I love Mexico, I have been there a couple of times, the people have always been very nice to me and treated me with respect. They are huge boxing fans and boxing experts so they appreciate a good fight. And that is what I will give them."
For him, it's a chance at a career-defining moment. For Alvarez, it's likely a brief stop on a busy schedule where he could further assert himself as the top pound-for-pound fighter on the planet.
