Canelo is not Canelo Alvarez‘s real name. The Mexican superstar, of course, was named Saul by his parents, and was later nicknamed ‘Canelo’ (meaning cinnamon in Spanish) because of his red hair and freckles. But it turns out that the WBA, WBC, and WBO super middleweight champ has another new nickname.

Based on his perfect undefeated record against English boxers, British tabloid, The Sun has christened Canelo ‘Brit Basher’. Alvarez has fought and beaten eight boxers from the island, with his first victory against a British boxer coming in 2011. Most famously, the Mexican knocked out wunderkind Amir Khan in the sixth round of their 2016 clash.

But Khan isn’t the only promising boxer representing the Union Jack who fell to Alvarez’s power and unstoppableness. Liam Smith, Callum Walsh, and Billy Joe Saunders are also part of the unceremonious club. So the new nickname, ‘Brit Basher’, seems appropriate for the red-head powerhouse. As for Alvarez, he is quite amused by it.

“I’m sorry to say that, but I’m gonna continue to [beat British boxers] if somebody pays me!” Alvarez chuckled when he was told of his new moniker in an interview with The Sun. In fact, Alvarez, who has never fought in the UK, also revealed that is was his dream to fight in there.

“It’s something I’m always dreaming in my life. I don’t know who or what fighter I’m gonna face, but I’m always dreaming in my career of fighting in UK,” he added. And it is easy to see why. The UK has some of the best fight fans and media in the world. While the US is perhaps the biggest, most lucrative boxing market in the world, the sport has somewhat stagnated there in recent times.

But the UK is going strong. The fans there appreciate talent and excellence, even if it involves someone fighting a guy from their country, as was evident from the love and support Oleksandr Usyk got from the British public for beating Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury—the two most popular British boxers of their generation. So it isn’t surprising Alvarez wants to experience the same adoration and love. Right now, however, he has bigger fish to fry.

Canelo Alvarez to face Willian Scull to set up Terence Crawford super-fight

Canelo Alvarez is set to face IBF middleweight champ William Scull this weekend in Riyadh. This will be his first fight under the Riyadh Season banner since he signed with the Saudi-government-led promotion earlier this year to a four fight deal. But this fight is just the appetizer.

The real fight fans are waiting for is for the Mexican champ to take on Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford, which has been promised for later this year, if Alvarez beats Scull this weekend—which the -3000 favorite is expected to do so without much trouble. Moreover, even the WBC, one of the four sanctioning bodies, has given the super-fight its blessings, ensuring that at least one major belt would be on offer for Alvarez-Crawford.

“You can never see in the future when you have one event, if he’s successful, the fight with Crawford would be monumental. It would be a huge fight between the classic combination, Mexico against the USA. He has provided some of the great fights in the past. Crawford is, without a doubt, one of the top fighters in the world right now. Canelo is. It would be a monumental, huge event, without a doubt,” WBC President Mauricio Suleiman told Sky Sports.

So if all goes right, certainly Crawford and perhaps Alvarez may be looking at the biggest fights of their career, unless Scull plays spoiler and somehow beats Alvarez, which would put all of these lofty plans at risk. Let’s see what happens. Meanwhile, what do you think about Canelo Alvarez’s new nickname, ‘Brit Basher’?