Canelo Alvarez thwarted another attempt at his undisputed crown. Jaime Munguia came out strong during the initial rounds. However, the super middleweight champion eventually rallied back to score a convincing win. The young challenger, as well as the world, understood that he was still the boss. Speaking with Sean Zittel, legendary sportscaster Jim Lampley said, “As the fight went on became clear that he didn’t really have the pop necessary to dent the greatest chin in the sport.” Now that even a true-blooded Mexican failed to do so, who else is left to forge ahead and challenge the biggest ‘face of modern boxing’?

Munguia’s ride to the biggest stage of his professional career thus far was nothing short of a suspense-riddled mystery plot. A slew of names raced to become Canelo Alvarez’s potential opponent on the Cinco de Mayo weekend. But only he made it across the finish line successfully. Canelo Alvarez returns for the year’s second fight, most probably by the month of September. Needless to say, a similar quest to identify the super middleweight’s next challenge could be very much in the offing.

Contender Conundrum: David Benavidez Goes Heavy

Not that fans aren’t curious about the matter already. During the in-ring post-fight interview, the event’s mater of ceremonies, Jimmy Lennon Jr., threw the obvious question. “Everybody wants to know what’s next, and David Benavidez is is the person that everybody across the uh across this country and across the world would like to see you fight. You said earlier this week you’re willing. What are your thoughts now?” asked Lennon Jr.

Unperturbed, the Mexican P4P best replied, “I don’t know right now. I’m to rest. I’m to enjoy my family, but you know if the money is right, I make that call, the money not…is right, I can fight right now.” Incidentally, ‘The Mexican Monster’ was present along with his spouse and father. As some of the increasingly viral clips suggest, the two even exchanged glances at the arena once the fight got over.

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David Benavidez, whose several attempts to make a fight with Alvarez never came to fruition, will be entering the ring on June 15. He will face Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the WBC (interim) light heavyweight title. It will be too early to predict whether he will return to 168 pounds to face Canelo Alvarez.

Empty Slots Against Canelo Alvarez

So what happens if ‘The Mexican Monster’ is kept off the contention list? Who else presents a potent threat to the undisputed super middleweight champion?

Edgar Berlanga

The Brooklyn-born, unbeaten boxer scored a decisive win over Irishman Padraig McCrory in February. Thereby, he positioned himself as one of the front- runners to challenge Canelo Alvarez. He is now the WBA’s mandatory challenger to Alvarez. The 26-year-old young boxer appears quite confident in his chances of entering the ring opposite the super middleweight king in September.

“Who wouldn’t want that fight next? You know what I’m saying. Obviously, it for for us is is a legacy fight you know what I’m saying. It’s Puerto Rico versus Mexico if you know boxing fans, so y’all know how that fight will go. You know you got two big stars. You know I’m I’m a Puerto Rican star. He’s a Mexican star. You put both of that together. You know is is going to be history,” he said while speaking with The Ring’s Ryan Songalia.

But despite the 22 successive outings, Edgar Berlanga remains fairly inexperienced when it comes to fighting on the big stage. Then there is another possibility. Given the six-year age gap between the two, the super middleweight might as well give Berlanga a chance. Doing so during the latter’s burgeoning ages and getting over with it instead of calling out Berlanga after he has gained considerable skill and experience appears to be a profitable deal.

Terence Crawford

One of the most prominent names that cropped up against Canelo Alvarez over the months was that of ‘Bud’ Crawford. Soon after trouncing Errol Spence Jr. as the newly crowned two-division undisputed champion, the Nebraskan expressed a keen interest in fighting the Mexican superstar.

But the problem is that even if Canelo Alvarez agrees to fight him, a climb of three divisions stares at Crawford! Now that is a very steep and disturbing ascent. Many experts, too, have voiced their concerns over such an attempt. On his side, Canelo Alvarez, too, isn’t too enthusiastic about a matchup against Terence Crawford.

Speaking with Box Azteca in February, though, he agreed that tons of money could be made fighting the welterweight champion. However, it’s not worth it. He said, “Yes, but they’re going to criticize me… and that’s it; they love it. They criticized me because I fought [Jermell] Charlo, who gained weight, who is bigger than me, because I’m a small fighter for these weights, and because he gained weight, but they didn’t criticize him when I went up in weight. So now, if you imagine Crawford as a welterweight, 168lbs, I have everything to lose and nothing to gain because if I win, they’ll say, ‘Oh, he was too small, and everything!”

Crawford, on the other hand, has decided to move up a weight class. He has challenged Israil Madrimov for his WBA light middleweight championship. So is the latest move a step to take him a bit closer to the ultimate prize, standing opposite Canelo Alvarez?

Rematch with Dmitry Bivol

This is another exciting option. The Russian light heavyweight champion inflicted his second career loss on Canelo Alvarez. Ever since, talks of running a rematch between the two have been going around. Dmitry Bivol‘s fight with Artur Beterbiev has been postponed. However, the WBA (super) light heavyweight champion might still proceed with a fight against a challenger on June 1. So once that’s over, probably his team and Canelo Alvarez’s side could sit together and formalize a date for a second match.

Given the revenge factor and the star value of both boxers, the clash makes up for a great crowd-puller.

There is another name, Jermall Charlo. However, ‘The Hitman’s latest musings on retirements seem to have put a question mark on a tentative fight with Canelo Alvarez. Last year, he reportedly made his intentions clear on avenging his twin brother Jermell Charlo‘s loss to the super middleweight champion. However, in a video that has been making the rounds across social media, he reportedly spoke about retiring. Returning from a two-year break, he took on Jose Benavidez Jr. in November last year. Subsequently, like the prominent few, his name also started appearing frequently against Canelo Alvarez, but to no avail.

Do you agree with the names provided here? Or, do you have a suggestion that you deem should also be considered? Please share your views with us in the comments below.