Canelo Alvarez

Pound-for-pound No. 1 boxer Canelo Alvarez reportedly has multiple options for his next fight.

According to ESPN's Mike Coppinger, Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing proposed a two-fight contract for Alvarez to face light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on May 7 and then complete a trilogy against Gennadiy Golovkin on Sept. 17. Alvarez would put his undisputed super middleweight championship on the line against Golovkin.

Coppinger added that Alvarez also received an offer from Al Haymon's PBC to defend his titles on May 7 against middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.

Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) is coming off an 11th-round TKO victory over Caleb Plant in November that unified the 168-pound titles. He signed a one-fight deal with PBC for a Showtime PPV for that bout, and he remains free to fight for any promotion he wants.

If Alvarez chooses to stick with PBC for his next fight, it would lead him to Charlo. The WBC middleweight titleholder would climb eight pounds to meet Alvarez. He defeated Juan Macias Montiel by unanimous decision in June, which was just his second fight in two years. Charlo (31-0, 22 KOs) is the identical twin brother of unified light middleweight champ Jermell Charlo. 

Alvarez is no stranger to the light heavyweight division and has already held a title in the weight class once before, defeating Sergey Kovalev in 2019. He would face a tall task in the undefeated Bivol (19-0, 11 KOs), who had two decision wins last year.

But the most intriguing option for Alvarez would be a third meeting against Golovkin. The two fought to a draw in 2017 and Alvarez took a majority-decision win a year later. Both fights were commercially successful and drew a lot of public interest. Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) hasn't fought since Dec. 2020 when he earned a referee stoppage win over Kamil Szeremeta to defend his IBF and IBO middleweight titles.

Alvarez, who has held titles at super welterweight and middleweight, has also expressed interest in becoming a five-division champion and challenging WBC cruiserweight titleholder Ilunga Makabu.

Jake Paul's journey into professional boxing has him aiming high as he thinks about potential future opponents. 

Speaking to TMZ Sports, Paul said he is looking to fight Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in 2024. 

"I think three years from now, us getting in the ring will A) be massive, and B) three years from now, my skill level will be good enough to make it a serious competition," he added.

Paul went on to explain that he and Alvarez are already the two biggest drawing cards in boxing, so "what better fight than to put the No. 1 highest-paid and the No. 2 highest-paid against each other?"

Despite some criticism over the legitimacy of some of his professional bouts, Paul has unquestionably been a massive drawing card in the ring.

Michael Woods of Bad Left Hook reported in April that Paul's match with Ben Askren generated at least 1.45 million buys between pay-per-view and streaming. 

Per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Damon Martin of MMA Fighting), Paul vs. Tyron Woodley on Aug. 29 sold between 480,000 and 500,000 pay-per-view buys. 

With Floyd Mayweather Jr. retired from professional competition, Alvarez has taken up the mantle as the biggest draw in boxing. Keith Idec of BoxingScene.com reported Canelo's Nov. 6 fight with Caleb Plant was on track to reach 800,000 buys in the United States alone. 

Canelo is at a different skill level than Paul. The 31-year-old superstar is widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He is 57-1-2 in his career, with his lone defeat coming against Mayweather in September 2013. 

Paul has a 4-0 record in his boxing career. The YouTube personality is looking to make it five straight wins when he takes on Woodley in a rematch on Dec. 18. 

UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman has reiterated his desire to have a boxing match against super middleweight boxing champion Canelo Alvarez.

Usman told TMZ Sports on Thursday his long-standing stance hasn't changed despite UFC President Dana White brushing the idea aside after the "The Nigerian Nightmare" successfully defended his title with a win over Colby Covington in early November.

"I've already said the name that interests me. Canelo. That's what interests me," Usman said.

The 34-year-old MMA superstar explained his hope of having the marquee bout isn't a publicity stunt. He believes there's a chance he could give the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world a run for his money.

"If I don't believe in myself, then why would I do it? Of course I believe in myself," Usman told TMZ. "He's amazing. He's amazing. I'm not taking nothing away from him. But, how often does someone get the chance to be able to test themselves against the best?"

It's not a major surprise Usman, who owns a 20-1 career MMA record and hasn't lost since May 2013, might be looking for a new type of challenge. He's defeated Covington and Jorge Masvidal two times apiece in his last five fights and doesn't have an obvious opponent waiting in the UFC welterweight division.

That said, the question is whether Alvarez, who's coming off a knockout win over Caleb Plant on the same night Usman dispatched Covington, can be convinced to take on the cross-sport encounter.

The boxing standout didn't sound interested when asked by TMZ about the prospect of taking on Usman before his clash with Plant.

"I don't see...It doesn't make sense for me. I want to make history in boxing, and I don't see anything right there," Alvarez said.

The 31-year-old Mexican sensation quickly moved on to chasing his next goal after beating Plant—trying to become a five-division world champion by fighting Ilunga Junior Makabu for the WBC cruiserweight title.

"I know ... what [Makabu] has done with the heavyweights he spars with, and that is why we asked for the fight," Eddy Reynoso, Alvarez's trainer, told ESPN Deportes' Salvador Rodriguez. "We know that [Makabu] is strong, but Canelo can beat him."

Details for the fight must still be finalized, but it sounds like there's motivation on both sides to get a deal done.

So, Usman will have to wait at least a little longer to see if he'll ever get a chance to step in a boxing ring opposite Canelo.

No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer Canelo Alvarez could have the opportunity for a title in a fifth weight class.

According to Mike Coppinger of ESPN, the WBC approved a future bout for Alvarez to challenge Ilunga Makabu for the cruiserweight championship. Negotiations will now begin to determine when and where the fight will take place. A purse bid will be ordered if the sides can't agree on a deal.

Alvarez (57-1-2, 39 KOs) is coming off an 11th-round TKO victory over Caleb Plant earlier this month to unify the super middleweight titles. With the win, he is the first boxer in history to become undisputed champion at 168 pounds.

Alvarez has previously held titles at super welterweight, middleweight and light heavyweight.

Makabu (28-2-0, 25 KOs) is on a nine-fight win streak since his last loss in 2016. He won the vacant cruiserweight title in January 2020 by defeating Michał Cieslak by unanimous decision, and he defended his belt last December with a seventh-round TKO over Olanrewaju Durodola.

The cruiserweight limit was 200 pounds, but it has recently been reduced to 190 pounds. Alvarez hasn't competed above 175 pounds, but his trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso believes he'll be prepared for Makabu despite facing a size disadvantage.

"I know ... what he has done with the heavyweights he spars with, and that is why we asked for the fight," Reynoso told ESPN Deportes' Salvador Rodriguez. "We know that [Makabu] is strong, but Canelo can beat him."

Reynoso added that it's just another challenge that Alvarez will have to face, and he's confident that he will be able to conquer this one the same way he's done before.

"It is one more challenge," Reynoso said. "Just as we took the challenges at 168 and 175 pounds, now we are going to cruiserweight."

Think you've got an impressive MMA resume?

Go ahead and compare it to Max Holloway's.

The long and lean Hawaiian has been in the UFC for nearly a decade, has won three fights for every loss and has a championship-level pedigree that includes five title-fight victories—in addition to a non-title win by first-round finish over one of the promotion's reigning belt-holders.

So, among guys claiming to be the Octagon's apex predator, it's hard to argue with his credentials.

And somehow, at least for three more weeks, he's still just 29 years old.

His last outing as a 20-something comes Saturday night in Las Vegas, where he'll headline a Fight Night show with Yair Rodriguez in a meeting of the world's first- and third-ranked 145-pound contenders.

It's his first non-pay-per-view appearance in six years, but he told Bleacher Report he's not at all fazed by the lesser stage.

"It's a big fight every time I get to be on a card, and I'm just grateful to be making that walk and being able to show why I'm one of the baddest men on the planet," said Holloway, who was king of the featherweights from 2017 to 2019 before dropping the belt to Alexander Volkanovski.

"I had five title-fight wins. And I loved every single title fight I ever was actually in.

"This is just another one. Last time I checked I'm still fighting five fives. There's not that belt at the end, but this is like a championship fight."

Speaking of that belt, he and Volkanovski did get together for a rematch at UFC 251 in July, and the Aussie walked away with a split decision, though more than a few of Holloway's colleagues thought he'd done enough to regain his title.

Still, if you're thinking Holloway lays awake at night lamenting curious scorecards, think again.

In fact, there's no guarantee that Volkanosvki will be next on his competitive dance card even if things go as planned with Rodriguez. Among the alternatives, he suggested, were a second date with lightweight champ Charles Oliveira—whom he stopped in 99 seconds in 2015—as well as a follow-up with 2013 foe Conor McGregor or even a dip in the crossover pool to fight a non-MMA rival.

"Like I said, I've got five title-fight wins. The sixth title fight win would be great against Alex," Holloway said. "For sure, that's what I want. But at the end of the day, we'll see what happens. UFC discussed a lot of possibilities, actually. I have a win over the 155-pound champ. I'm always on a short list to fight Conor. They got me on that short list.

"Even with these, quote unquote, so-called boxers. I'm the best boxer in the UFC. Use your imagination, my friends. That's all I can say. We live in a wild time. We've seen wild fights being made. Just use your imagination."

He was coy when pressed for specifics, but Holloway has been labeled one of the UFC's biggest weight-cutters and is rumored to walk around at or near 180 pounds before trimming down.

Boxing's reigning pound-for-pound king, Canelo Alvarez, is frequently linked to these sorts of fights and competed last week at 168 pounds. For tale-of-the-tape purposes, Holloway is 16 months younger and three inches taller than Alvarez, who's never weighed-in past 174.5 pounds.

As for social media chatterbox Jake Paul, he's five years younger than Holloway, two inches taller at 6'1" and walks around between fights in the neighborhood of 190 to 200 pounds. Paul is fighting boxer Tommy Fury in December but has previously met ex-UFC fighters Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley.

Holloway, without naming names, said he'd listen if someone called with an out-of-the-box proposal.

"We'll see what happens," he said. "Like I said, use your imagination. We live in wild times. Wild fights are being made. What a time to be alive if you're a fighting fan or if you do this for a living.

"You've got a lot of ways to go."

As for now, it's Rodriguez, a 29-year-old who's been in the UFC since 2014 and lost just one of 10 fights while beating the likes of BJ Penn (TKO 2), Dan Hooker (UD 3) and Alex Caceres (SD 3).

Holloway made the contracted weight of 146 pounds on Friday after another challenging cut and credited his wife and son for not only keeping him healthy but also providing the extra impetus—alongside his wanting to be the best fighter in the world—to get through the most harrowing hours.

"I've got to thank my beautiful wife for helping me through this camp. She cooks all my meals, and she makes sure I'm fed and eating all the right stuff and staying away from all the bad stuff," he said.

"What I've put my son and my wife through, through all the fight weeks and the fights and all the business stuff that I've had to do, all the time that I get taken away from them. That's what gives me the motivation. These two people, my family, they give me the motivation to just be greater, be better and be the best version of myself. That's what gets me through the day."

Even after nine performance bonuses, a record-setting win streak at 145 and a 30-month title reign.

And he's still not close to finished, but he promised he'll know when it's time.

"There's a bunch of records out there that, for sure, I want to break," he said.

"I don't want to be one of these guys where it's past my time and I'm trying to hold onto something. At the end of the day, we just take one step at a time. That's all we're doing. We're just focusing on the now. When we've got to cross that bridge, I'll sit down with my team and say, 'Look, this is what we've got to do, and this is the way we've got to go,' and we'll cross that bridge.

"But, right now, we just focus on the things I can control and the things I can do and set myself up for what's coming ahead in all the fights."

Rodriguez weighed-in a half-pound less at 145.5 and presents a varied threat that's allowed him to rack up multiple wins by decisions, knockouts and submissions since turning pro in 2011.

Still, he's not fought since a pre-pandemic decision over Jeremy Stephens in 2019 and hasn't finished an opponent since stopping "Korean Zombie" Chan Sung Jung with a second left in their 2018 main event.

"I'm not too worried about what he's gonna do," Holloway said. "I respect everything that he's gonna do. I know what he brings to the table. He knows what I bring to the table. So, at the end of the day, let's get it on. Saturday night should be fun, should be fireworks.

"If you're trying to get a family member, a friend or a colleague into mixed martial arts, into the UFC, make sure to tune in. I can make a fan out of them. I'm gonna go out there and fight my heart out. It's just gonna be a great one."

UFC President Dana White is not a fan of the idea that Kamaru Usman could fight Canelo Alvarez in a boxing match.

"I watched the Canelo fight tonight," White said, per Steven Marrocco of MMA Fighting. "You don't want to fight Canelo. C'mon, man, let's stop this s--t. If Canelo wants to come over here, let's do it. He don't want to box Canelo."

Both were in action on Saturday when Alvarez defeated Caleb Plant with a technical knockout in the 11th round and Usman beat Colby Covington via unanimous decision.

Usman suggested a boxing match with Alvarez would provide a challenge that could help motivate him in training:

Uh, Dana doesn't know that. Like I said, I want something that scares me. If I'm going to leave my daughter for another 12 weeks or more, it's gotta be something that really, really gets me up. And I like that. I want challenge myself.

I know a lot of people are going to talk down and say a lot of bulls--t—'Oh yeah, you don't want this, you don't want that.' Yeah, don't get me wrong, he's a master at what he does. I love it and I respect it. I want to challenge myself in that way. The last time I was an underdog, we saw what happened. I get it, but we're the ones who will take that risk. We're the ones who are willing to go over there and take that risk. They won't dare come over here and take that risk.

The last part of that comment is notable, as MMA fighter Conor McGregor went to the boxing side of combat sports and fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2017.

While Mayweather improved to 50-0 in his career with a 10th-round technical knockout of McGregor, the MMA fighter held his own in the early rounds and even landed an uppercut while building some initial momentum.

Usman has also impressed with his striking ability inside of the Octagon and started to create some separation with Covington during the second round of Saturday's fight at Madison Square Garden.

He started applying more pressure in that round with his striking and rode the momentum to defend his welterweight title.