Mike Tyson has named the boxing superstar who he believes has one eye on retirement.
‘Iron Mike’ himself was at one time by far and away the biggest star in the sport, with several of his fights amongst the highest grossing pay per views of all time.
Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez has been the fighter delivering similar numbers stateside in recent years, and broke the attendance record for a boxing event in the United States when he defeated Billy Joe Saunders in front of 73,000 fans at the AT&T Stadium in Texas in 2021.
However, speaking on his podcast Hotboxin’, Tyson claimed the Mexican was “getting ready to go out.”
“Canelo’s probably the only superstar right now, as Floyd’s not around any more. People will say ‘who’s Canelo fighting?’ anywhere in the world.”
“But he’s getting ready to go out.”
Despite the former heavyweight kingpin’s comments, reports suggest Canelo will carry on until the end of this calendar year at the very least.
He takes on mandatory challenger Jon Ryder on May 6 in his native Mexico, the first time he will have boxed in his homeland for over a decade.
The event, which will take place at the Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, is widely expected to be the biggest sporting event in Mexico in 2023.
Though Ryder is a worthy challenger, Canelo is expected to retain his undisputed super middleweight crown and look towards a rematch with Dmitry Bivol in the second half of the year.
Bivol upset the bookmakers’ odds last May to comfortably outpoint the pound for pound star and retain his WBA light heavyweight title.
Though Canelo’s representatives have repeatedly insisted the second meeting take place at 175lb again, the skilled Russian is keen on a crack at his former foe’s four belts, and a fight at 168lb is now said to be most likely.