Canelo Alvarez’s return to face undefeated ‘boogeyman’ for his former title receives key update
An update has been issued regarding the status of the vacant IBF super middleweight title.
Canelo Alvarez was hoping to face Terence Crawford in a rematch before his latest opponent made the decision to retire from boxing.
The Mexican star, who is three years younger than ‘Bud’, still plans to continue fighting following the third defeat of his career.
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It isn’t clear when Alvarez will return due to the elbow surgery that he underwent shortly after losing his undisputed super middleweight belts.
While all of the talk in recent weeks has been about Crawford’s swan song, the face of boxing’s comeback will be a huge deal whenever it takes place.
Canelo Alvarez vs Osleys Iglesias inquired about for vacant IBF belt
Canelo Alvarez was removed from the Ring’s top 10 pound-for-pound rankings for the first time since 2018 following his loss to Terence Crawford in September.
The manner of the defeat was so shockingly one-sided that it’s likely going to take the Mexican superstar some time to build back his momentum.
One name that was already being suggested as the fighter who could face the winner of Canelo vs Crawford was Osleys Iglesias.
The undefeated Cuban stopped Vladimir Shishkin in September to emerge as the next contender for the IBF super middleweight belt that Crawford has now vacated.
Multiple sources have reported that the IBF has now ordered Iglesias vs Alvarez for the vacant belt, due to both men being their top ranked contenders in this division.
However, Dan Rafael has disputed this, stating that while the IBF did show interest in the matchup, it hasn’t been officially ordered at this time.
Terence Crawford retired due to fights against the likes of Osleys Iglesias
In a recent appearance on Adin Ross’ stream, Terence Crawford spoke about his decision to retire.
He revealed that one of the key factors was that he didn’t feel like there were any fights out there for him that would be against big names who could add to his legacy.
Osleys Iglesias, who could’ve been made his mandatory challenger, is a good example of this.
The 28-year-old could go on to become a star but at just 14-0 in his pro career, beating him won’t do much for either Crawford or Canelo Alvarez.
However, it’s rising and hungry competitors like Iglesias who are going to be hunting down someone like Alvarez so they can announce themselves on the global stage.
