Canelo Alvarez’s days as a middleweight are over.
The newly-crowned WBA Super and WBC super-middleweight champion will now compete solely in the 168lbs weight class after officially relinquishing his WBA Super crown at middleweight.
The Mexican star impressed in an emphatic points win over a much larger Callum Smith to seize his super-middleweight titles last month and, according to trainer and manager Eddy Reynoso, will now leave the 160lbs division behind for good.
“He is 168 now, it is his prime weight,” Reynoso told Jake Donovan of BoxingScene. “It is where he feels strongest and we are not giving away anything in weight anymore at middleweight.
“Anyone who wants to fight Canelo will have to meet us [at 168lbs]. He’s not giving away anymore of his prime.”
The move leaves Japan’s Ryota Murata as the WBA’s sole champion at middleweight. The organisation’s ‘Regular’ champ is now likely to be pursued by the sanctioning body’s No.1 contender and ‘Interim’ title holder Chris Eubank Jr.
Main image: Michelle Farsi/Matchroom Boxing USA.