“He Wants to Start to Travel” – Promoter Highlights Canelo Alvarez’s Plans to Fight in the UK and Japan

It seems like Canelo Alvarez is looking to rope in more and more international fans on his side. Golden Boy Promotions President Eric Gomez, who also acts as the promoter of Alvarez, said that the WBA super-middleweight champ is very keen on fighting overseas.

As of now, he is slated to fight on September 12. However, with no finalized opponent and the COVID-19 pandemic not looking to slow down, the chances of the fight happening are a bit grim. Billy Joe Saunders was the last person who was linked to fighting the Mexican.

Alvarez has probably figured it out that going international makes a big difference in his brand value. Hence, he wants to explore potential markets such as Japan and the UK.

“We’ve talked about it, and he obviously wants to expand his brand and his likeness, and I think that would be sensational if we could get something done in the UK,” Gomez said while talking to Boxing Social.

“But we have talked about it. We’ve talked about going to Japan as well, and I think he wants to start to travel and fight outside the US. I think it’s going to create a bigger market for himself,” he added.

Eric Gomez still very open for Billy Joe Saunders vs Canelo Alvarez

The fight between the WBO and WBA super-middleweight champs couldn’t take place earlier this year. Thereafter, there were speculations that the booking could take place in September. However, the Brit turned down the fight. He said that the payday was not up to the mark.

Saunders has also seen his fair share of controversy throughout his career. Regardless, Gomez doesn’t rule out the possibility of a fight between Saunders and Alvarez.

“We’re all for it. We never had a finalized deal [with Saunders]. We were discussing the possibility of doing that fight, and then the pandemic hit, and we had to stop everything. Everything came to a screeching halt. It’s unfortunate, but maybe it can happen in the future. We don’t know,” Gomez said.

Boxing legend Bernard Hopkins, who also promotes Canelo, has said that Saunders may have missed out on his one opportunity to fight Alvarez. Moreover, the British Boxing Board of Control suspended Saunders’ boxing license after he posted a controversial video in March. In the video, he made a ‘joke’ where he instructed would-be domestic abusers how to best hit their partners.

The Board later removed the suspension and levied a fine of 15,000 pounds on the pugilist.

Regardless of all this, Gomez is still optimistic about a fight between the undefeated Saunders and his client.

“I know Billy Joe has essentially said that he’s not going to fight for the rest of the year. Maybe I’m mistaken. I don’t know for sure. But if the fight can be made in the future, I think it would a terrific fight. Any or all of them. Any and all of them would make a good match. They’ll be tough fights because they’re championship level fighters.”

Source | Boxing Social