Canelo Alvarez Set for October 23 Elbow Surgery, Expected to Resume Training Mid-2026

Superstar Canelo Alvarez will be undergoing arthroscopic surgery next month, on October 23, on his left elbow to remove fragments of bone in the aftermath of his defeat against Terence Crawford.

Canelo’s Elbow Surgery Timeline

The injury made Canelo’s 12-round unanimous decision even harder to swallow. He lost his undisputed super middleweight championship against an older, smaller 38-year-old Crawford (42-0, 31 KOs).

The Nebraska Crawford moved up two weight classes to dethrone him in front of a large crowd of 70-482 fans at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. It was obviously an embarrassment to the Mexican star getting beaten by a guy he was supposed to have defeated.

According to Mike Coppinger, Alvarez (63-3-2, 39 KOs) will be required to wear a sling for four to six weeks after undergoing surgery. When that comes off, he still won’t be able to return to the ring until the second quarter of 2026.

Canelo, 35, still has two fights left on his four-fight contract with Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season. When Alvarez does come back, he’s going to have to be matched carefully if they don’t want him to lose again, because he doesn’t look capable of defeating the top five-level contenders at 168.

Williams’ Fire-Breathing Take

Canelo has managed to get by for the last three years by not fighting the cream of the crop at super middleweight, which is why Crawford was able to beat him.

The three names that have been floated for Alvarez’s next fight in 2026:

• Chris Eubank Jr.
• Hamzah Sheeraz
• Christian Mbilli

Of those names, Mbilli is the real talent, a guy that likely would already be champion if Alvarez hadn’t given him the cold shoulder during the last two years.

Crawford’s Win More About Canelo

It wasn’t a situation where Crawford looked great, far from it. Canelo looked worse than him, and that was enough for him to lose. The way Bud performed, he’d have lost to at least three to four of the top super middleweights, possibly even more. I must say, Crawford looked as old as the hills, but Canelo was so bad, it didn’t matter. Both of these guys would be food for the fighters below.

The Big Four at Super Middleweight

You’ll see what I’m talking about if Crawford chooses to defend his undisputed 168-lb championship against any of The Big Four:

1. Osleys Iglesias
2. Christian Mbilli
3. Lester Martinez
4. Diego Pacheco

Chris Williams has covered boxing since 2010, bringing fans reliable analysis and insight from ringside to headline events.