Canelo Alvarez hopeful of announcing opponent this week

Canelo Alvarez is looking to announce his next opponent this week, with a clash against Caleb Plant on December 19 mooted.

Four-weight world champion, Canelo will resume his career as a free agent, after he reached an agreement to end his association with Golden Boy on Friday.

Canelo filed a lawsuit after failing to secure a fight this year, alleging breach of contract amongst other reasons, relating to the $365m deal with DAZN, Golden Boy’s streaming network partner, which is now void after only three fights.

The Mexican superstar is pressing ahead for a December return and is reportedly in talks with IBF Super Middleweight champion Caleb Plant and the 30-year-old, who has not fought since spectacularly knocking out Sergey Kovalev last November, intends to confirm an opponent this week.

“I hope that [this] week we can have something done, something concrete and be able to announce what day, with whom, where it will be,” said Canelo in an interview with Rodolfo Vargas.

“I don’t care if it’s December 19 or Christmas, I don’t care, what I want is to fight this year and on any day.

“For me, when you have to work you have to work and I am willing to sacrifice anything.”

Canelo was set to face WBO Super Middleweight champion, Billy Joe Saunders prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, whilst WBA ‘Super’ Super Middleweight holder, Callum Smith has also been mentioned in recent months.

A showdown with Plant could take place in Texas in front of a limited crowd, following on from Gervonta Davis’ stunning knockout over Leo Santa Cruz, which took place in front of around 11,000 spectators at the Alamodome, San Antonio.

“What I want is to make good fights and for people to see great fights, and they are all good fighters,” Canelo added.

“We are going to see which one of them is more comfortable and ready for December.”

Speaking for the first time since reaching a settlement with Golden Boy, Canelo, who was reportedly seeking damages of up to $280m, insists his boxing career was at the forefront of the case rather than the financial incentive.

“I can’t talk about a lot of the details [with the lawsuit], but what worried me the most was the delay between fights.

“What I want is to fight, to continue making history. I had to do all of this [with the lawsuit] and I hope that the boxers who come after me will realize that our rights as fighters have to be respected,” Canelo told TV Azteca.

“For me, the important thing was that I was a free agent and not the money. This is one of the most important periods of my career.

“Eddy Reynoso and I will be the co-promoters of my fights.”