Canelo Alvarez

Vitor Belfort was clearly feeling himself after knocking out Evander Holyfield—a 58-year-old man who last fought professionally in 2011—in the first round of their bout Saturday night.

The 44-year-old Belfort even called out Canelo Alvarez following his victory.

"[Alvarez] will not fight me at 185, I promise you," he told reporters. "He will not have the balls to come, I promise you. If he does, we have $30 million."

More likely, the 31-year-old Alvarez will have the good business sense to defend his unified super middleweight belt against actual boxers in their prime, not against former MMA stars looking for a big paycheck in the sort of novelty fight that Floyd Mayweather Jr., Conor McGregor and the Paul brothers have made trendy.

Alvarez's next fight is scheduled against Caleb Plant on Nov. 6. And after that, well, don't expect him to give Belfort's trash talk a second thought.

Hall of Fame boxer "Sugar" Shane Mosley said Friday that he finished in the red after fighting Canelo Alvarez in 2012.

Appearing on Triller's OK Bet with Mario Lopez (h/t TMZ Sports), Mosley said he bet $1 million on himself to beat Alvarez despite only getting paid $600,000 for the fight.

That decision didn't work out well for Mosley, who was 40 years old at the time and fighting the 21-year-old Alvarez. Mosley lost a one-sided unanimous decision, resulting in Alvarez remaining undefeated at 40-0-1.

Mosley explained his line of thinking at the time of the bet, saying: "I was thinking this snot nose kid is not gonna beat me, you know at 154 [pounds]."

He also remarked that he essentially had to pay $400,000 for "getting my butt kicked."

Even then, Mosley seemed like a long shot to win, as Alvarez was one of the fastest-rising stars in the sport. He had beaten Matthew Hatton to win the vacant WBC light middleweight title four fights prior and was on a three-fight knockout streak entering the clash with Mosley.

While Alvarez was undefeated at the time, Mosley was 46-7-1 entering the bout and had suffered two losses and one draw in his previous three fights.

Mosley was a top-flight boxer in his prime, holding the WBC and WBA (Super) welterweight titles, and beating the likes of Oscar De La Hoya, Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga.

He often struggled against the best of the best, though, losing to Vernon Forrest, Winky Wright, Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao prior to the Alvarez fight.

Despite that defeat, Mosley still enjoyed a great career and fought five more times after, going 3-2.

Mosley's final contest was a unanimous-decision loss to Russia's David Avanesyan for the WBA interim welterweight title in 2016.

Sugar Shane retired with a 49-10-1 record, and he is now focused on the boxing success of his son Shane Mosley Jr., who is 17-4 with 10 wins by way of knockout.

Meanwhile, Alvarez has developed into one of the biggest stars in boxing, owning a career mark of 51-1-2, with his only loss coming to Mayweather.

Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant agreed to a November date for their pay-per-view fight, according to ESPN's Mike Coppinger.

Coppinger reported in July the two sides were close to an agreement for a September event before reaching an impasse.

The stakes couldn't be much higher in November. Alvarez is the WBO, WBA and WBC super middleweight champion, and Plant is the only person standing between him and undisputed status within the division. 

Alvarez earned a technical knockout of Billy Joe Saunders in his last fight in May, which brought him the WBO gold. Immediately after the victory, he made it clear Plant was in his crosshairs:

The 31-year-old sports a 56-1-2 career record, his lone defeat coming against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in September 2013.

Plant is unbeaten with 12 knockouts in 21 fights. His last bout was a unanimous-decision victory over Caleb Truax in January, which was his third successful IBF title defense.

Defeating Canelo would be a star-making moment for Plant, along with making him the undisputed super middleweight king.

Alvarez, meanwhile, might be looking at more than Plant's IBF championship. 

Coppinger reported that Alvarez and Premier Boxing Champions, which manages Plant, signed for one fight. The agreement could open the door for Canelo to take on more PBC fighters, most notably super middleweight challenger David Benavidez or WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo.

Canelo Alvarez is nearing a deal to return to the ring in November against Caleb Plant to decide the undisputed super middleweight title, according to Mike Coppinger of ESPN:

Alvarez has been rather quiet since dispatching Billy Joe Saunders in eight rounds on May 8. In addition to retaining his WBA (Super,) WBC and The Ring super middleweight titles, the victory gave Alvarez the WBO super middleweight title. 

The undefeated Plant (21-0, 12 KOs) holds the IBF super middleweight title and has successfully defended it on three occasions after claiming the belt from Jose Uzcategui in January 2019. 

Plant and Alvarez have reached this stage of negotiations before, however, and it did not end well. Coppinger reported on July 29 that a September bout had fallen apart at the "11th hour."  Dmitry Bivol was floated as a replacement for Alvarez to continue his streak of fighting on Mexican Independence Day (Sept. 16), but a deal never materialized. 

Alvarez has celebrated his country's Independence Day with bouts in 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2009. He is 6-1-1 in those events, falling to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in 2013 and earning a draw against Gennady Golovkin in 2017. 

The Mayweather bout remains the only blemish on Alvarez's resume. He's since gone 14-0-1, ascending to the top of the sport and becoming as big of a draw as any boxer. In that time, Plant has cemented himself as a top challenger, taking down the likes of Mike Lee, Vincent Feigenbutz and Caleb Truax to protect his title.

Now he's looking to make a deal with Alvarez a reality once again.

It doesn't appear as though a mid-September fight will materialize in 2021, but a shot at claiming all four super middleweight titles in November may be the next best thing. 

A potential bout between Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant has been called off after contract disputes, according to Mike Coppinger of ESPN.

The two sides had reportedly been discussing a deal to set up a fight on Sept. 18 during Mexican Independence Day Weekend, but the talks stalled between Alvarez's team, which includes promoter Eddie Hearn, and Plant's team, featuring manager Al Haymon, "at the eleventh hour," per Coppinger.

The matchup would work as a unification bout at 168 pounds. Alvarez is currently the super middleweight champion in the WBC, WBA and WBO, while Plant holds the IBF title.

Coppinger noted talks can still be revisited, but it could affect the date of the bout. 

Lance Pugmire of The Athletic reported last week the two sides were on the "brink" of finalizing a deal.

"I think it’s going to happen for real," one official close to the talks told Pugmire.

Coppinger noted it was going to be a massive payday for both fighters:

This could be enough to push the teams back together to eventually work out a deal.

Alvarez is already one of the biggest stars in the sport, considered the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world by ESPN. The 31-year-old has a 56-1-2 record with his only loss coming to Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

He already has two wins in 2021, both by technical decision, but is looking for more to add to his resume.

Plant could be a tough challenge with a 21-0 career record with 12 knockouts. He earned his belt with a win over Jose Uzcategui in 2019 and has defended it three times, possibly setting him up for a step up in competition against Canelo.

Jake Paul is ready to take on even bigger names after his upcoming bout against Tyron Woodley, including MMA superstar Conor McGregor.

"I think there's a 90 percent chance of [the McGregor fight] happening," Paul told Tom Taylor of Maxim. "That's the biggest fight that Conor can do. It'd be the biggest payday for him."

Paul had been discussing a potential $50 million offer for a fight with McGregor since last year.

McGregor is one of the biggest names in combat sports, but he is coming off consecutive losses to Dustin Poirier and has just one UFC win since 2016. He could be the next target for Paul, who rose to fame as a social media personality but is now 3-0 in his boxing career.

Paul will look to take the next step as a fighter with a challenging bout against another MMA star in Woodley on Aug. 29. He and his brother, Logan Paul, have taken part in multiple high-profile pay-per-view fights over the past couple of years, with Logan recently facing Floyd Mayweather in an eight-round exhibition.

Jake Paul hopes to continue this run of popularity with a potential bout against current boxing star Canelo Alvarez, ESPN's best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

"I'm very confident," he said of a fight with Canelo. "He's a killer at 168 pounds, but people forget that I naturally walk around at about 205, so there's a big weight difference. There's a big height advantage."

While the 24-year-old projected this matchup could be three years away, Paul believes no opponent is out of reach.

"I'm sort of thinking about it one fight at a time," he said. "Anything is possible after my brother fought Floyd Mayweather. I could fight anybody after this."

Oscar De La Hoya is thinking big as he embarks on an exhibition comeback experiment. 

The 48-year-old Californian is already slated to face Vitor Belfort on September 11, 2021. After that, however, he wants one more exhibition followed by a shot at either Canelo Alvarez or Floyd Mayweather. 

"This might be my fighter juices flowing again," De La Hoya told Mike Tyson on his Hotboxin' podcast. The former middleweight star added that when he gets back in the ring for real he's looking for a 12-round bout. 

De La Hoya and Mayweather already met once in 2007 for the WBC light middleweight belt. The result was the most lucrative boxing match ever at the time, generating more than $130 million as Mayweather took a split decision victory (113-115, 116-112, 115-113) to keep his undefeated record intact. 

A rematch was widely discussed to take place in 2008, but Mayweather's retirement ended those hopes. De La Hoya would go onto defeat Steve Forbes via unanimous decision before losing to Manny Pacquio in 2008. De La Hoya retired a year later with a record of 39-6 (30 KOs). 

The Golden Boy has never faced Canelo, but has a direct line to him if De La Hoya wants to schedule a fight. De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions rostered Alvarez until November 2020 when he was released following a breach of contract settlement.

If De La Hoya's matchup against Belfort goes well—and if a second exhibition takes place—look for De La Hoya to start seeking out a return to pro boxing in a major way. Whether or not Mayweather or Alvarez would accept the challenge remains to be seen. 

Jake Paul is setting his sights at the top of the boxing world.

The YouTuber-turned-prizefighter says he could see himself fighting super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez in the future. 

"I just want to continue to be the most disruptive boxer in the history of the sport," Paul told TMZ Sports. "...I don't even wanna think about, or cap myself, with the possibilities. I'm open-minded, and I think anything is possible. I think I could be fighting against Canelo Alvarez for the WBC or the WBO championship belt. Why not, baby?"

Paul has taken the boxing world by storm over the last year, with his knockout wins over former NBA player Nate Robinson and MMA fighter Ben Askren becoming some of the most-watched fights of the year. He's set for his biggest challenge to date, former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley, on Aug. 28.

While Paul's boxing career remains more of a sideshow at this point, he's becoming increasingly accepted in the larger fighting world. He left upstart Triller to sign a deal with Showtime ahead of his Woodley bout. Showtime is known for promoting the likes of Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and several other notables under its boxing banner.

In fact, Paul's sway has gotten so large that he's even trying to influence his own undercard. Paul says he wants Anderson Silva, who won his first boxing match since 2005 over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on Saturday, to take on Roy Jones Jr. on the same card as his fight against Woodley.

Jake Paul wasted no time calling out Canelo Alvarez after the middleweight champ appeared to tweet his disdain for Sunday's exhibition between Paul's brother, Logan, and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

The unsanctioned bout between Logan and Mayweather ended with both fighters lasting a full eight rounds and no winner declared. None of the rounds were scored, and neither fighter was knocked down, let alone in danger of a knockout.

Instead, Mayweather walked away with a large paycheck after telling TMZ Sports he was guaranteed to get around $30 million and could reach as much as $100 million.

The match itself appeared to do little to inspire Alvarez.

Despite Jake already set to fight Tyron Woodley in a boxing match on August 28, he's wasting no time challenging Alvarez.

After Logan was able to use his fame to get a pay-per-view event with Mayweather, Jake may find himself in a similar situation with Alvarez.