Canelo Alvarez has named his price. Sitting down on CBS Mornings this week, the Mexican superstar was handed a hypothetical $75 million purse to give Terence Crawford a rematch, and he pushed the number higher. “They need a little bit more for me. We start with a 100 for you. But yes. Why not? As a fighter, we always want revenge.”
Let’s be honest about what this is. Crawford walked up from 154 to 168 last September and outboxed Canelo over twelve rounds, dominating almost every one of them on the judges’ cards. “Bud” became the first male fighter in history to be undisputed in three weight classes, and he did it while Canelo reportedly banked around $150 million to Crawford’s roughly $50 million. Now the roles have flipped. The man who used to set the terms is the one doing the asking.
Canelo’s logic is the part I actually respect. “If you look back, I always do good in my rematches,” he said. “You get to adjust, you correct some of the mistakes. And I know what I did wrong.” That is the grandmaster talking, treat the first fight as data collection rather than defeat. The problem is that the gap in September was not a puzzle to solve; it was a physical reality. Crawford was faster, sharper and stronger at the weight.
Before any of that matters, Canelo has a date in Riyadh. He meets Christian Mbilli for the WBC super middleweight title on October 31, an undefeated 29-0 pressure machine who throws close to a hundred punches a round. Coming off elbow surgery and a career-worst loss, picking the division’s most relentless volume puncher as your comeback opponent is either fearless or foolish. I lean toward fearless. Canelo always was at his best when the fight comes to him.
Benn-Garcia Is Locked for Las Vegas
The fight that has been brewing all summer finally has a home. Ryan Garcia announced on Jimmy Fallon’s show that his first WBC welterweight title defense, against Conor Benn, lands in Las Vegas on September 12. “Keep my belt warm,” Benn has been telling him, and now the WBC’s No. 1 contender gets his shot.
I have gone back and forth on this one since it was made official back in July. Garcia brings the hand speed and the celebrity; Benn brings sharper fundamentals and a point to prove after years away from 147. Benn has not made the welterweight limit since 2022 and needed a 150-pound catchweight for the Regis Prograis fight in February. That is the detail that worries me for him. But if he makes weight cleanly, this is a genuine 50-50 with fireworks written all over it.
The undercard just got stronger too. Jai Opetaia vs Noel Mikaelian, a cruiserweight clash with real stakes, has joined the bill.
Iglesias-Zaren, Parker’s Return, and the Fury-Joshua Saga
October is quietly stacking up. IBF super middleweight champion Osleys Iglesias, the Cuban “Tornado” who has looked like the sport’s next big thing at 168, is reportedly set to defend against undefeated Dane Oliver Zaren on October 8 in Quebec. Zaren is 19-0-1, and his one blemish is a no-contest caused by a thunderstorm, which is both funny and not exactly the resume you want when walking into a fight with Iglesias.
Elsewhere, Joseph Parker has been cleared to return to boxing after serving a three-month suspension, with UKAD confirming his ban has ended. Parker’s is a name that keeps the heavyweight division interesting even in exile. Watch this space.
And in the saga that refuses to die, Eddie Hearn says everybody wants Fury vs Joshua in America. The UK’s two biggest heavyweights still cannot seem to make it happen on home soil, which is its own kind of indictment. Joshua is coming off that wild night in Sydney last month.
Teremoana Fights Tonight, Shields Returns Saturday
While the big names negotiate, the heavyweight future is on display tonight. Teremoana Teremoana, the Australian super heavyweight who broke out at the Paris Olympics before running into Bakhodir Jalolov, headlines on the Gold Coast against American knockout artist DeAndre Savage. Teremoana is 11-0 with 11 stoppages; Savage is 11-1 with 11 KOs, a 35-year-old who has spent most of his career fighting in Colombia and Mexico. Both made weight. A win keeps Teremoana in the conversation he wants, having already named Huni, Itauma and Dubois as targets.
Then on Saturday, Claressa Shields goes after the WBC and WBA middleweight titles against Kaye Scott in Atlanta, the fight that sets up a potential collision with Tamm Thibeault. Scott is 42 and Shields is a massive favorite, but the women’s division keeps producing stories worth watching.
Filipino Corner: A Japan-Heavy Stretch and a Lively Cebu Card
If you are Filipino like me, the next fortnight is a treat. The Pinoy fight calendar in Japan is packed. Erson Trinidad challenges Takero Kitano for the OPBF minimumweight title at Korakuen Hall on August 19, the most significant of the bunch. Wesley Caga fights Aoi Murata on August 16, Pepito Masangkay meets Masahiro Suzuki on August 21, and Jason Facularin is in Kobe on August 22. Alex Santisima’s Tokyo test against Yukinori Oguni, already previewed here on Monday, tops them all on Sunday.
Back home, the Cebu scene keeps producing. At Asturias last Sunday, 22-year-old Arlando Senoc Jr stayed perfect at 9-0 with a first-round knockout of John Rey Labajo, while Ruel Compuesto took a decision over Bryan James Wild. The main event of that card, though, belonged to Cebu-based Taiwanese fighter Ming Hung Lee, who hit the canvas early and still stopped veteran Carlo Demecillo in four rounds for the WBF Australasian super featherweight title. Down in round one, champion by round four. That is the kind of heart local boxing is built on.
The next six weeks are shaping up nicely: Garcia-Benn and Opetaia-Mikaelian on September 12, Iglesias-Zaren on October 8, Canelo-Mbilli on October 31, and Crawford somewhere in the background collecting interest. Boxing does this sometimes, nothing for a while, then everything at once. My advice: enjoy tonight’s heavyweight appetizer, because the main course is coming.