Eddie Hearn Reveals That Ilunga Makabu And John Ryder Are Frontrunners For Canelo Alvarez Showdown In December

Posted on 03/04/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Initially, many were led to believe that Canelo Alvarez and promoter Eddie Hearn were joined at the hip for his next two fights. Alvarez rebuffed a lucrative two-fight offer made by PBC’s Al Haymon that would see the pound-for-pound star take on Jermall Charlo and David Benavidez, in order to accept a two-fight deal from Hearn that will match him up against Dmitry Bivol and Gennadiy Golovkin instead.

With Alvarez officially booked up in May and September, Hearn recently revealed that his deal with Alvarez is actually for three fights. While no one has been officially named as of yet for Alvarez’s final contest with Matchroom, which will likely take place in December, Hearn believes he not only knows who Alvarez will likely face but also, where it will ultimately take place.

“It’s John Ryder in London, which will probably be his mandatory,” said Hearn during an interview with FightHype.com. “Or it’s maybe [Ilunga] Makabu in Guadalajara.”

Alvarez, who was born and raised in Guadalajara, Mexico, hasn’t fought on his home soil since scoring a 12th round knockout win over Ryan Rhodes in 2011. Since fighting primarily in the United States, Alvarez has morphed into arguably boxing’s biggest star.

Recently, Alvarez stripped Caleb Plant of his IBF super-middleweight title in November of 2021, to become the division’s first undisputed champion of all time.

Ryder, 33, jumped onto the radar of Alvarez following his recent win over former two-time middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs. Still, even with Ryder reeling off three straight victories, Makabu provides Alvarez something Ryder cannot, a chance at history.

The relatively unknown 34-year-old recently defended his WBC cruiserweight crown against Thabiso Mchunu during the first month of the new year. Before officially signing off to take on Bivol and Golovkin, Alvarez flirted with the idea of climbing up yet another weight class to snag his fifth world title, a record for a Mexican born fighter.

Admittedly, Hearn would love to see Alvarez pack his bags, stamp his passport, and head on over to the United Kingdom. But, even with that being the case, the longtime promoter admits that witnessing Alvarez return home would be on another level.

“Can you imagine, a Canelo Alvarez fight in Guadalajara? A part of me would love to bring him to the UK but also, to bring Canelo Alvarez to Guadalajara, and to see that as a spectacle. That’s maybe even over London.”