There's no doubt that Mexican boxing sensation Carneiro Alvarez is the guy all non-heavyweights want to face, and he's the ticket to the ultimate event. However, Alvarez's battle with Jimmy Monguia earlier this month had poor ratings, with only 520,000 PPV rumored to have been sold, according to sources, which made Amazon Prime, the live-streaming platform that works with PBC, somewhat embarrassing.
With Alvarez beating Monguia and announcing that he would return to action in September, there has been growing calls for Alvarez to be sure of his next match. The need for fans is to choose a real strong fighter who can live up to everyone's enthusiasm.
The strong opponents in the hearts of the fans are basically concentrated on two people - David Benavidez and Terence Crawford, and the public generally believes that Alvarez can only choose one of Crawford and Benavidez to be in suspense.
Alvarez's choice of Crawford is undoubtedly a bigger box office appeal, but one of the hurdles between the two is the three-class difference, and even so, there is still a division gap between him and Alvarez, even though Crawford will move up to the 154-pound super welterweight division in August to challenge WBA champion Israel Madramoff.
Alvarez's other potential opponent is Benavidez, who will move up to the 175-pound light heavyweight division next month to compete with Oleksandr Grozdik for the WBC interim title, but Benavidez has stepped aside and will immediately relegate back to 168-pound super middleweight whenever he gets the chance to face Alvarez.
For Alvarez's next option, British promoter Eddie Hearn gave a disclosure. Hearn and Alvarez have been working together for nearly three years and are familiar with each other, and Alvarez even had the news of a possible re-collaboration with Hearn before his match against Monguia this month, which shows that the relationship between the two sides is extraordinary.
In an interview with Fight HubTV this week, Hearn revealed that he spoke with Alvarez not long ago and learned a few things.
"When I met Alvarez, he wasn't fascinated by Crawford, he just felt that if a welterweight guy moves up to super middleweight, a victory like that doesn't bring any accolades because people think Alvarez is fighting a small weight fighter," Hearn said. Crawford is great, but he won't be the ideal choice for Alvarez. ”
Hearn admits that at this point in Alvarez's career, money plays a role more than anything else. "Alvarez himself has spoken about it, money is his only motivation and a big challenge these days, and Alvarez is very honest about this, as long as the money is right, he will do anything, in short, the money is right, Alvarez is willing to fight any fighter," Hearn said. ”
In Hearn's opinion, since Alvarez is unwilling to fight Crawford, there is only one option left - Benavidez. "I don't think Crawford is someone Alvarez is going to choose, he's more likely to choose Benavidez," Hearn said. Alvarez knows that a win over Benavidez will give him the credit he deserves, rather than facing a fighter who is three or four divisions below him. ”
According to the local chaebol Turki Alarshkh, he hopes that the Alvarez and Crawford clash will take place in late 2024 or early 2025 in the United States, and the only thing that can impress Alvarez at that time may be money.
If Alvarez is really as Hearn said, choosing Benavidez will undoubtedly be a very interesting battle, and I hope Hearn can be right. Of course, Hearn himself would love Alvarez to choose his fighter – Edgar Berlanga. Blanga is now a mandatory challenger to the WBA, and as long as the WBA gives the order, he and Alvarez will inevitably exchange fire, but if so, it is estimated that the PPV ratings of this game will be even more embarrassing.