Screw the celebrity boxing nonsense, let’s get Canelo Alvarez and Jermall Charlo in the ring ASAP

The biggest attraction in legitimate boxing, Canelo Alvarez, could be announcing his next major championship fight soon. The bout that seemed like a pipedream just a few short months ago, pitting Canelo against Jermall Charlo, now has the chance of coming to fruition by May. According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, the two sides are in talks for a fight on Cinco De Mayo.

“I’m not so sure that Canelo will be fighting at cruiserweight or against [Ilunga] Makabu,” ESPN’s boxing reporter Mike Coppinger said on the network’s State of Boxing. “I’m hearing that it’s much more likely that he’s going to fight Jermall Charlo on Cinco de Mayo. There are talks right now for that fight.”

After Canelo beat Caleb Plant in November, rumors emerged of Alvarez eyeing a move up in weight class, all the way to cruiserweight. That would mean moving from fighting at 168 pounds up to 200 pounds. for a fight against Ilunga Makabu for his WBC cruiserweight title. It’s not unheard of for boxers to jump up in weight class, but this would be a 30-plus pound move upward from super middleweight to cruiserweight for Alvarez.

Tommy “Hitman” Hearns went from welterweight (147 pounds) up to cruiserweight during his 29-year career, which was a range of 43 pounds. And Roy Jones Jr. started at middleweight (160) and eventually landed in the heavyweight division for a stint. Manny Pacquiao moved from 108 to 154 over the entirety of his career, fighting in 11 divisions. But such a considerable leap in weight in one fell swoop might be a bit much for Canelo.

But if we’re being honest, no boxing fan was waiting on a Canelo-Makabu fight. Charlo has been on the radar for a while, and has even called out Alvarez in the past. Charlo might be one of the few potential opponents that can match power with Canelo. And he’d would come into the fight undefeated at 32-0 with 22 knockouts. It’s been floating around that Alvarez is ducking a fight with Charlo, but all that talk will be put to rest if their teams can come to terms on a mega fight.

Both fighters are in the prime of their careers and in the right place at the right time, so there is no good reason for this fight not being announced soon. Although we know nothing is guaranteed anywhere, especially in the world of boxing, this match would be a tremendous feather in the cap for whoever comes out the victor. Canelo would prove his detractors wrong, yet again, by beating a bigger, and possibly more powerful, boxer in Charlo. Charlo would be able to prove that he is, without a doubt, in the conversation of the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world with a win over Alvarez.

Stay tuned boxing fans, and keep your fingers crossed. We know how these “talks” can somehow go sideways out of nowhere. If they can come to an agreement, this could very well be the fight of the year.