Canelo Alvarez: “Before I Retire, I Will Fight in London” – ‘Brit Basher’ Eyes UK Stadium Bout
(Credit: Ester Lin/PBC)
Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has made a promise to British fight fans as the end of his boxing career approaches.
Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KO’s) will have his WBC, WBA, and WBO super-middleweight titles on the line up against undefeated IBF world champion William Scull (23-0, 9 KO’s), on Saturday May 3rd, with critics expecting the DAZN Pay-Per-View to flop.
The Mexican great, now 34 years of age, has been nicknamed the “Brit Basher” because he has simply dominated British fighters throughout his career. Canelo has faced off against Brits a total of eight times, and he’s won all eight of those bouts. But another victim may be on the cards in the near future.
Canelo Alvarez, the “Brit Basher”, Has Toyed With British Boxers in his Career
Alvarez has defeated eight British boxers, stopping five of those in brutal fashion.
The first British boxer to take on Canelo Alvarez was Matthew Hatton, back in 2011. Despite being outclassed, Hatton went the full 12 rounds, losing a lopsided decision in their bout for the vacant WBC super-welterweight title.
For his first defence of that title, Canelo faced another Brit, Ryan Rhodes, who entered the ring with a 45-4 record. Canelo, then undefeated aside from an early-career draw, stopped Rhodes in the final round of the contest.
It would be five years before Canelo faced another fighter from the UK. In 2016, he delivered one of the most devastating knockouts of his career against Amir Khan, who was left flat on the canvas and unaware of what had landed flush on his chin.
Canelo followed that performance with another stoppage victory, this time against Liam Smith to win the WBO light-middleweight title. He ended that bout in the ninth round, adding another Brit to his list of victims.
Two years later, Rocky Fielding stepped up. Canelo, despite dealing with the kidnapping of his brother behind the scenes, made quick work of him with a third-round knockout, the fastest of any of his UK opponents, winning the WBA super-middleweight title.
Callum Smith, brother of Liam who was stopped by Canelo, challenged the Mexican in 2020. Though he made it to the scorecards, he lost convincingly on points, becoming just the second Brit to avoid being stopped, yet, he did suffer several injuries. Canelo won the WBA, the Ring and the vacant WBC super-middleweight titles.
In 2021, Billy Joe Saunders became Canelo’s next British opponent, and his next knockout. Despite Saunders having talked a good fight in the build-up, Canelo shattered Saunders’ eye socket, and had him backing up for a good few minutes before forcing the fight to be stopped by Saunders’ corner to retain the WBA, WBC, and The Ring super middleweight titles, whilst winning the WBO title off the Brit. Saunders has not been seen in the ring since.
The last Brit to face Canelo was John Ryder in 2023. Despite being dropped and bloodied, Ryder went the full 12 rounds, making him the third from the UK to go the distance, with the Mexican retaining the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, and the Ring super-middleweight titles.
Canelo Wants Fight in UK Before Retiring From Boxing
The Mexican, who has been the face of boxing for many years now, has won fans over in various regions of the world. And even though he has dominated British fighters, Canelo does have many supporters residing in the United Kingdom.
The modern day great recently admitted to the media: “Before I retire, I will fight in the UK. For sure, I will fight in London.”
With Chris Eubank Jr recently getting a huge victory over Conor Benn in spite of his struggles with the middleweight limit, perhaps “Next Gen” could move back up to super-middleweight for a shot at Canelo in a stadium fight. As of now, this seems like the most realistic fight for the Mexican to take if he travels to the UK, especially given negotiations for Canelo versus Eubank Jr have happened in the past.
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