Canelo Alvarez will reportedly fight Billy Joe Saunders on May 2
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez finally has an opponent.
Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN Deportes is reporting that Alvarez will fight WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders on May 2 — Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Mike Coppinger of The Athletic reported that the 168-pound unification fight will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the T-Mobile Arena.
Alvarez, who is 53-1-2 with 36 KOs, holds the WBO regular super middleweight title. He fought twice in 2019 and won both times, first beating Daniel Jacobs at middleweight on May 4 and then handling Sergey Kovalev with a major knockout at light heavyweight on Nov. 2.
Saunders is 29-0 with 14 KOs, and he also came up with two wins in two fights in 2019. He defeated Shefat Isufi on May 18 and Marcelo Coceres on Nov. 9, with Coceres giving him more than a little trouble before an 11th round knockout. The bout against Alvarez is a big step up, talent-wise, for Saunders, who has faced less-than-inspiring opponents at the 168-pound weight class.
According to The Athletic, Saunders, 30, will make a career-high $8 million for this fight. Alvarez, 29, already makes $35 million per fight from his contract with DAZN.
No official announcement has been made yet, but it’s expected to happen within the next 24 hours, with a news conference in Los Angeles to follow next week.
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