The 168lbs unification bout between WBA Super and WBC champion Canelo Alvarez and WBO title holder Billy Joe Saunders has been agreed for either May 1 or May 8.
The bout comes a year later than originally advertised. Hatfield’s unbeaten Saunders appeared to have clinched the career-defining fight and payday he has always craved in May 2020 before the Covid-19 Pandemic intervened, but now that lucrative opportunity has been revived. Mike Coppinger of The Athletic originally broke the news of the revised agreement.
First, Canelo (54-1-2, 36 KOs) must negotiate what appears a relatively straightforward mandatory assignment against Turkish challenger Avni Yildirim at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on February 27.
Victory over Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) would give Canelo three of the major belts at super-middleweight with a September clash against IBF champion Caleb Plant his likely target for a final unification bout on Mexican Independence weekend later this year.
Streaming network DAZN will broadcast Canelo-Saunders worldwide, apart from the Mexican market.
