Canelo Alvarez is in talks to face WBA ‘Super’ super middleweight champion, Callum Smith in December in Texas, according to reports.
Canelo, who became a free agent after parting company with Golden Boy was looking to tackle IBF title holder, Caleb Plant on December 19, however as reported by Mike Coppinger of The Athletic there was not enough time to build the fight on pay-per-view.
Smith’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed on Wednesday that the two parties are in ongoing discussions to stage the bout, but an agreement has not been reached for a showdown on either December 18 or 19.
The fight would be aired on DAZN, the streaming service which Canelo was involved in a lawsuit with, as well as his former promoter Oscar De La Hoya and promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions, who he sued for breach of contract amongst other reasons.
The Mexican superstar was three fights into an eleven-fight deal worth a reported $360m, although a settlement was reached on November 6, to release Canelo from his Golden Boy contract, with his DAZN deal void.
Smith has been out of the ring since defeating John Ryder by a contentious unanimous decision last November, retaining his WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine 168lbs titles and a clash with Canelo would be his third defence.
Canelo was set to face Smith’s compatriot and WBO champion, Billy Joe Saunders in May prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic with the two-weight world champion now defending his crown against Martin Murray on December 5.
The pound-for-pound great would be dropping back down to 168 pounds, following his stunning eleventh round knockout over Sergey Kovalev last November, where he ripped away the WBO light heavyweight belt and became a four-weight world champion.
Canelo already holds a win over Smith’s brother Liam, who he stopped in nine rounds in 2016 to claim the WBO light middleweight crown, in Texas in 2016 and it would be the sixth time the 30-year-old has faced a Brit having beaten Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes, Amir Khan, Liam Smith and Rocky Fielding, most recently in 2018.
Ryan Garcia’s rescheduled WBC interim lightweight title clash with Luke Campbell could land on the undercard with Garcia’s promoter Oscar De La Hoya revealing the target date is December 19.
Down for it 🥊 https://t.co/2u63VmimKs
— Ryan Garcia (@KingRyanG) November 12, 2020
Garcia was set to face former two-time world title challenger, Campbell on December 5 on DAZN, however the Brit tested positive for COVID-19, although he has completed his self-isolation period.
