Wednesday, March 27

Hearn confirms Canelo vs. GGG 3 offer, talks set for next week


Eddie Hearn will meet with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and trainer Eddy Reynoso next week, as the promoter looks to make the long-awaited trilogy with Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin a reality show.

Reports have emerged over a proposal from Matchroom to Canelo, offering the Mexican superstar a light-heavyweight clash with Dmitry Bivol and a super-middleweight showdown with GGG. Speaking exclusively to Sporting News, Hearn confirmed those reports.

“yeah [the two-fight offer has been made],” Hearn said. “Eddy Reynoso started talking to various people about his next fights. We’re in a situation where he’ll review all the options. I’ll see them next week for a chat, and see what happens. There’s [Jermall] Charlo, there’s other fights he could make, but hopefully we get the opportunity to work with him again. We’ve got a great relationship. I call him a friend.



“I love working with him and Eddy. That doesn’t mean he’s gonna work with us if we can’t provide the fight he wants. Those guys, Eddy and Canelo, literally will only take fights that appeal to them. They’ve got everything. They’ve done it all. So it just comes down to [Canelo thinking], ‘what fight’s gonna fire me up — what do I like?'”

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Still boxing’s biggest attraction?

Canelo has enjoyed a spectacular last 14 months, coming out of the pandemic with a ruthless dismantling of the 168-pound division. He defeated Callum Smith in December 2020 to capture the WBA Super, WBC and The Ring titles before retaining them against Anvi Yildirim just two months later. A fight against WBO champion Billy Joe Saunders followed in May of last year, with Canelo coming out on top, before Canelo found the missing piece of the puzzle in November, taking the IBF strap from Caleb Plant.

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With nothing left to conquer, the undisputed super-middleweight king may step back up to light-heavyweight to take on Bivol. It would mark his second fight at 175 pounds, having already beaten Sergey Kovalev in a 2019 title fight for the WBO title.



Hearn’s plan would also see Canelo write the final chapter in his epic GGG story. Although the Mexican would never admit it, he could at long last tidy up some unfinished business after previous controversies.

The first bout between the two generational talents ended in a draw, and the second as a Canelo victory. However, many fans still strongly feel the first should have been a GGG win, and the second a draw. When GGG signed an eye-raising six-fight contract with DAZN in 2019, already at the age of 36, the general assumption was the Canelo trilogy had become a formality. But when Canelo ended his own exclusive deal with DAZN in 2020, while cleaning up at 168 pounds and seeing GGG’s career decline, it looked as though the window had closed for good.

Since the Canelo fights, Golovkin has won three in a row. His last fight was in December 2020, beating Kamil Szeremeta in seven rounds. Golovkin is scheduled to fight Ryota Murata this year for the IBF, IBO and WBA middleweight titles.

Hearn — who promoted Canelo’s demolitions of Smith, Yildirim and Saunders — is confident the trilogy is still the biggest fight around.

(Getty Images)

He believes that only Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury could rival its size.

“[It would be] massive. Massive,” Hearn went on to say. “Yeah, arguably [it’s the biggest fight in boxing]. You’ve got AJ and Fury, but for me, it’s the trilogy now for the undisputed championship. GGG is a tremendous fighter. You’ve only got to watch the first two fights. … It would be absolute carnage. If the money is right, I think both guys will do it.”

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Mr. Popular in two languages

Since Canelo began working with Hearn, the 31-year-old has become a quote-machine for English-speaking journalists. Confident and funny, Canelo has taken to his media duties like never before, having previously been unconvinced of his own ability to speak the language.

Hearn refuses to take full credit for planting the seed, but is certainly enjoying the fruits: “No, I wouldn’t have the guts to say to his face, ‘You need to do this.’



“I think that being around us and our team obviously [had an impact]. Now, I even understand his Spanish! I don’t speak Spanish, and that’s how it went with him. You always used to ask him a question in English, he would understand the whole question, but speak in Spanish. His popularity since speaking English has doubled. He’s really good at it.

“I don’t think he’s always had the confidence. Maybe the only thing I can claim, is letting him know that his English is good: ‘Don’t worry if you think it’s not good — it’s good.’ It’s the little clips of him with [Demetrius] Andrade at the press conference that went viral. It makes him so much more relatable to so many different people.”




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